To Fight To Love To Live
by RiderGroup16
Summary: Called to Spiderdeath's aid, the Sixteenth is finally ready to head out. Between mutant spidrens, killer horses, and plants with their names on their thorns, the green riders and their gruff leader find out just how dark and dangerous shadows can be.
1. Introduction

**To Fight. To Love. To Live. - The Story of The Sixteenth**

Called to Spiderdeath's aid, the Sixteenth is finally ready to head out. Between mutant spidrens, killer horses, and plants with their names on their thorns, the green riders and their gruff leader find out just how dark and dangerous shadows can be.

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Round-Robin: A group of writers that write in a cycle.

**xxTunstall Chickxx, ****Ally-Marty, ****Tamora Pierce Junior, ****darestodream, ****prophecygirlsbn, ****MopCat, ****-_-MusicIsWorthLivingFor-_-**

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Our story takes place around the year 465 H.E., the war with Scanra is over and Evin Larse is now the Commander of the Queen's Riders. He oversees all of their field operations and assignments. According to an interview with Tamora Pierce, Sergeant Musenda Ogunsanwo, or 'Sarge' as everyone calls him, is also a commander of the Riders, so we've assumed that he is in charge of the selection and training of new Riders. Buri (now married to Raoul for five years) is mostly retired from the Queen's Riders, but TP says that the feisty K'miri warrior still helps out whenever she has time and that she sometimes rides with a group when she's bored with the King's Own.**  
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**Characters:**

Lilian (Lilia) Seas, 16 MERCHANT

Brynna of Masbolle, 16, NOBLE

Lean (Leo) of Black Reef, 17 NOBLE

Cassidy (Cass) Reed, 16, COMMONER

Fin Gran, 17 COMMONER

Alexea (Alex) of Kennan, 16 NOBLE

Danny Baker, 18 COMMONER

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**Enjoy!**

**RiderGroup16**


	2. Teaser: The Sorting

_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**To Ally-Marty who has taken time to review my chapters and make them ever so much better. Thank you!  
**

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**Teaser: The Sorting**

Commander Buri of the Queen's Riders looked over the nervous group of trainees. After today, they would be trainees no longer. Today was Sorting Day, the day where each trainee was sent to his or her assigned Rider Group - the Group they would remain with for the rest of their lives, however long those lives may be. The Commander hoped they would be very long. She grimaced when she thought of the losses they had had this past year. The Riders never had lost so many people during peacetime. Now, though there was no war, there was still an increasing and alarming number of bandits, brigands, immortals - and everything else that could possibly exist - to annoy the population of Tortall.

It was a cool autumn day and gusts of wind were whipping about the fallen leaves. Buri surveyed the worn-out group. They were weary, wary and nervous, and some of them were trembling. By now she was used to their attitudes, though she felt that there was an unnatural amount of fear today. Buri had enjoyed working with this lot of trainees because they seemed like a sturdy bunch. Also, she had been surprised when not one, but six nobles - two from the Book of Gold no less and two from the Book of Silver, as well as two others - had applied to become trainees. Buri's cool gaze rested on each and every pair of eyes as the trainees silently lined up in rows, stared blandly forwards, and failed miserably at trying to mask their emotions.

The Riders - the ones who had passed their training a long while ago - stood looking at the trainees just as their commander did, but with less serious expressions on their faces. They were just around to see what the sorting would bring. And of course, it was mandatory for Group Leaders to be present and take their fledglings with them. Buri noticed Danny Baker - it was no hard task since he stood slightly apart from the rest of the Riders, chatting quietly with the woman beside him, Queen Thayet. She was the only person Buri ever saw Danny be so unguarded around and they were close friends now. Buri felt a little pity as she stared at the man - he had lost many things in his life. Now the Group was his, though there was nothing left of it.

"Trainees!" Buri yelled, her voice carried and echoed in the stillness of the courtyard. The trainees' backs went board-straight and they stared at their commander. She smiled and then smirked at the man standing beside her who then sighed and took the papers from her hands.

Evin Larse went before the young men and women and looked them over, smiling wryly before becoming serious once more.

"Kiddies! You've made it this far, so there's no need to be worried - they're not as mean as they look." Evin motioned toward the Riders off to the side. Some of them smiled and some chuckled. He continued, "We've had a lustrous year so far, and I'm sure you'll miss waking to Sarge's voice in the mornings. But today is really just the beginning; today you will find your groups and, with time, they will become your family. You will enjoy their company. You will confide in each other. You will laugh together. You will mourn together." He added a little somberly.

"Alright then... Samantha Miller's Daughter," he called. The girl shook as she came forward but held her chin up. "You're now with Rider Group Seven."

The girl walked to the Group Leader, Adam of Guild Hall. He clasped her forearm and she bowed her head. "Welcome to Nightbreath, little one." She nodded again and stood with her group. The watchers cheered.

It continued like that as each trainee went to his or her assigned group.

"Brynna of Masbolle-" Evin raised his eyebrows at Buri. She knew what he meant by it, but she had her reasons for that particular assignment and nodded for him to go on.

The girl was of medium height and stood straight, she looked directly at second-in-command Larse as though this was an everyday happening. He could see her fists slightly ball up, so he knew she was not entirely at ease, but the girl did not look scared. She awaited the decision with an anticipating face.

Brynna of Masbolle stood there feeling anxious. She had been fine until Evin Larse had hesitated and shot a questioning glance to the commander. That had made her nervous and now she wondered if there something wrong. She had passed her training, hadn't she?

"Rider Group Sixteen." Evin stated crisply.

Brynna bit back her surprise and quickly made her way to where she was supposed to go. A tall man stood behind none other than the queen, who smiled kindly to Brynna. Brynna bowed deeply in respect. Thayet nodded and then Brynna met her Group Leader. The man was tanned with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. His eyes were shadowed however and she saw no hint of a smile on his face. Instead, she saw shock and surprise, and maybe even contempt.

"Welcome to the Sixteenth." He clasped forearms with her and gave her a scowl.

The girl took her place behind him feeling uneasy. _Did he not like her? And where was the rest of the group?_ She hadn't ever really heard of the Sixteenth. It was the 'unmentionable' group. Nobody talked about it, but there had been some sort of horrible bloodshed incident that had cost many lives. _Had absolutely everyone perished? Did the leader blame her for replacing them?_

A sharp jab in her ribs interrupted Brynna's thoughts and she turned to see another man - a shaggy blond with a suppressed smile - next to her. _Another member of the group mayhap?_ Whomever he was, he had refocused her in time for her to see a girl with brown shoulder-length hair and a kind smile walk towards them.

Brynna recognized the girl from training but they had been in different Trainee groups so she knew her only by face. There had been very serious losses throughout all of the groups so now there were more trainees than ever before. During the training they had been split into two different groups and this girl had not been with Brynna's.

"Sorry, what's your name?" Brynna asked quietly as Evin assigned a short boy to the Queen's Rabbits.

"Alexea of Kennan." She whispered back, keeping her eyes trained forward.

Brynna looked back at the blond Rider but he wasn't looking at her now. His bright blue eyes were on the second-in-command and his smirk was more pronounced than ever. Brynna just shook her head and watched a Bazhir trainee go to Thayet's Dogs.

Approximately one bell later when all of the trainees had been sorted, all of the other groups were chatty. But not the Sixteenth Group; theirs was ghostly silent. There were just the seven of them: a tall girl with very long, curly brown hair and stormy grey eyes who was shy and tried to make herself seem shorter and smaller; a girl with very straight, dirty blonde hair who was a little more forward; Leon of Black Reef, a gangly boy with short brown hair whom Brynna knew already; Alexea of Kennan; the shaggy blonde Rider; Brynna and their leader.

That was it. That was their group.

Brynna looked around and saw that they were all alone in the courtyard now. The wind started to blow harder and small raindrops fell from the angry grey sky. It was as though the Gods wept. The seven stood in a circle, looking at each other.

"I'm Danny Baker. I'm the leader of this group, and you'd best respect that. You treat me like your better - your superior, because that's what I am. Understood?" Heads nodded in agreement. It was, after all, the protocol.

"I don't care if you're a noble," Danny seemed to sneer a little at the word, "or if you're a commoner. There will be no distinction in my group. We are a group. We are to work together. I want no complaints." He seemed to direct his comments at Brynna and Alexea, as if not trusting them to cooperate properly.

"Yes Sir." Alexea said cheerfully, smiling brightly.

He rolled his eyes, "No need to call me 'sir'."

"Would you prefer 'your majesty'?" asked the shaggy blonde man who had nudged Brynna earlier.

Danny Baker glared, "Sarcasm isn't appreciated, Fin."

"Fin Gran." He introduced himself to the others.

"Alexea of Kennan." The cheerful girl replied.

"Cassidy Reed," mumbled the girl with the straight honey hair.

Brynna's head spun, she knew she would confuse all of their names so she'd just have to make do with trying her best not to mess up too badly. Besides, how hard could it be to match six faces to six names?

"Why'er you so happy?" Leon mumbled to Alexea, who was now soaked through by the relentless rain.

"Let's go in shall we?" Fin Gran said grimly and he started up a conversation with Cassidy as everyone trailed behind. The walk to their barracks was quiet; the only noises came from the two people who were talking and the rain that was beating down upon their heads. Inside, the barracks were chilly. People called various cots. Danny's bed was, of course, separate from all the others.

Brynna shook her head as she surveyed her new 'family'. They were all so different, so strange. The tall quiet girl, who had not yet spoken to anyone, had chosen a cot under the window. Cassidy Reed had put her cot near that girl's. Leon of Black Reef had just flopped onto the first one he could find, and Alexea and Fin hadn't seemed to mind as they chose two of the three remaining empty cots. Brynna dropped her soaked self onto her cot and continued her silent surveillance. Alexea seemed so happy compared to the other people in the room and Leon seemed so much moodier; their outlooks were quite opposite.

Brynna sighed; it looked like this would be a very long year. They all seemed so incompatible with one another. The dismal weather had caused everyone to be tired and in a bad mood and slowly, even though it was only midday, they all feel asleep. A drowsy Brynna tried to keep her eyes open as she watched a hunched-over Danny Baker. He seemed to be the last one left awake and she tried to make out what he was doing but soon gave up. Then she too saw only darkness.

Danny looked about him and cursed. His entire group had fallen asleep and it wasn't even dinner time yet! He sighed and thought bitterly, "_What could he expect from three nobles and some lazy men like Fin?"_

He left the barracks quietly, trying not to disturb his new group. He shuddered, not liking the way that name played around in his head. They would never be his group, merely his charges. He rapped three times on the door to Commander Buri's study. She opened the door and gave a resigned sigh as she saw him.

"Very well, come in." She opened the door further, allowing him access to the room, he strode in but didn't sit down. She sat at her desk and observed him in silence.

"Just say what you need to, Danny." He could tell she was not in the mood but he was beyond angry. He was so furious he saw red.

"What were you thinking?" He hissed at the person who could very well be his only real friend. After the accident, everything had been so very different.

"I was thinking as a commander should, _Danny_. They are all very qualified; I handpicked them especially for this group."

"Three nobles? _Three_? You handpicked them _especially_? If this is a joke I don't find it particularly funny. They're greener than the grass upon the fields in summer - newer than the dew that forms overnight. And you give me _six_ of them!"

"How very poetic." She said dryly. "And Fin Gran is a Rider - he has been for a while now," she added, not at all in the mood for arguing.

"Fin Gran is lazy." He whined, frustrated.

"You think everyone is lazy. He is perfectly alright." She held up a hand as he started to complain again. "You're a dead end Danny. The members of the Sixteenth are a Rider Group; they are a fighting unit which has not been fighting for a while. We need you back out there. You're a damn good fighter Baker, and we need your group and you to help." Months of frustration rolled off her in waves. "In life you must learn to move on, we lost a great deal many riders this past year." She added kindly.

"Now you get your ass in gear and pack your things. You leave tomorrow morning for the coastal hills. One more word and I'll have you suspended. I am serious."

Danny Baker clenched his teeth, balled his fists, but uttered not one word. He stalked out of the office slamming the door behind him. Commander Buri collapsed into her chair, letting out a heavy breath. She felt bad, but he could not remain a shell forever. She just hoped she had made the right decision and that it wouldn't cost five green riders their lives. Life was risks after all, wasn't it? Life was life. Life was death. And the life of a rider was accepting those things and to keep fighting no matter what.

The following morning Commander Buri watched as seven ponies - and their mounted riders- made their way out of the palace gate. The members of the newly-formed Sixteenth Rider Group were on their way to start the adventure of their lives - to begin a new life and to leave behind a different one that should never be recalled again. They were on their way to begin a long, long journey and create a bond between them that would see them through all their troubles.

She watched them leave until the gates closed behind them completely. They were off, for better or for worse, _to fight, to love, and to live._

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**Keep Reading, xxTunstall Chickxx  
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**-_-Ridergroup16-_-  
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	3. Ch 1 Unexplained Goodbyes

_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Disclaimer: All of Tortall belongs to Tamora Pierce. We just like to play around in her world.**

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing our story! We want you all to keep reading our work and tell us honestly what you think of it. We all hope to be better writers through this experience, and we hope you enjoy our story as we spin it along. --Rider Group 16**

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_She shouted angrily now, months of frustration rolling off her in waves. "In life you must learn to move on; we lost a great deal many riders this past year. Now you get your ass in gear and pack your things. You leave tomorrow morning for the coastal hills. One more word and I'll have you suspended. I am serious."_

_Danny Baker clenched his teeth, balled his fists, but uttered not one word; he stalked out of the office slamming the door behind him. Commander Buri collapsed into her chair, letting out a heavy breath. She felt bad, but he could not remain in a shell forever. She just hoped she had made the right decision and that it wouldn't cost six green riders their lives._

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**Unexplained Goodbyes**

The Sixteenth Rider Group had been traveling toward the coast since daybreak. Danny rode at the head of the formation, followed by Brynna and Cassidy, then Alexea and Lilian, while Fin and Leon brought up the rear. The previous day's rain had turned into a heavy, foggy mist which clung to everything and soaked everyone. Danny decided to stop for an early lunch. They found shelter within a dense copse of trees, where the ground underneath was relatively dry. No one talked very much while they picketed the ponies and tended to their gear. Danny knew that he had gotten off to a rough start with the members of his group the previous day. Now he would have to make up for the lost opportunity to make a good impression with them. He knew it would not be easy.

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It had taken Danny a long time to cool down after his 'discussion' with Buri, even though, deep down in his soul, he knew that she was right. He trudged around in the rain for while before he decided that he was being foolish - it wouldn't do him any good to catch a cold as they started out on their mission. When he finally returned to the barracks, he loudly packed his things - his cursing and banging around his cot woke everyone up from their unplanned rest period and they all groggily followed his example. Actually, most of the new folks had very little packing to do since they all had known they were heading out on their missions within the next few days.

When everyone had gone to dinner that night, it was painfully obvious to Danny just how badly he had messed up. The mess hall was filled with the excited noises of every other rider group getting acquainted with their newest members. People all around him were laughing and being sociable. Other group leaders and 'old-timers' told stories about their past adventures and hopes for their future missions. It was still too painful for Danny to discuss the past in such a casual way, and his only goal for the future was to try to keep everyone alive. All he had told his group was their destination and their mission. Again, following Danny's lead, the members of the newly-reconstituted Sixteenth had eaten their meal in relative silence for the most part. After dinner, they all performed their final equipment and supply checks and went to bed.

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Now, as everyone found a place to sit down and took out their lunch sacks, Danny asked everyone to gather around him for a talk. He told them that he didn't want to take too long of a break, especially since the weather was still so damp, but when he looked into the hesitant, wary eyes of his six charges, he decided that he owed them at least a little bit of an explanation. Danny sighed and began to pace back and forth. If only he could just press on toward the future without dealing with the past. He knew he had to try to repair some of the damage he had caused by his previous day's behavior and he hoped his group would understand someday the reasons he didn't like to talk about the past. For now, he would just stick to the basics and tell them as little as possible.

"Okay, everyone," Danny stopped pacing and then ran his fingers through his wet hair. "I know I yelled a lot yesterday. That's just the way I am. I expect you'll all get used to it soon enough, but there are a few things I need to say."

Brynna looked up at her leader. She could sense that he was really struggling with whatever was on his mind. She desperately hoped his talk wouldn't have anything to do with what had happened the previous night when Danny had stumbled into her tearful farewell with Jenetta of Legann, her best friend in the whole world. She felt her face get red at the thought that he might bring it up.

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After their last dinner at the mess hall, Jenetta found Brynna outside and they went to a quiet place where they could talk privately. It was a painful moment for them - in the morning they would be heading out in different directions. This would be the first time since they were very little girls that they would be apart for such a long time. The best friends had always known they would never be assigned to the same group, but now that their time together had come to an end, they were overwhelmed with sadness. Jen was assigned to the Eleventh Rider Group, Trollwatch, which was headed north for the border with Galla. The Sixteenth was headed south for the coastal hills northeast of both Masbolle and Port Legann. The two girls had cried and comforted each other as they stood by themselves in the rain.

"I can't believe you get to be so close to home!" Jen pouted. "You might even get to see my papa if you have to run to Legann for support."

Brynna hugged her friend and wiped the tears from her face, "Ah, but at least you're in a group where everyone likes each other and gets along nicely. My group leader only yells at us - it's like he can't stand us, but he doesn't even know us yet."

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Jen softly cried. "Tell Dom I still love him, even if he _is_ betrothed to that lady knight of his."

Brynna smiled through her own tears. "Tell him yourself! You'll probably see him long before I will. I just hope Kav remembers _me_ while he's finishing up his studies at the university."

Then Jen had kissed her. It was something they had done from the time Jen's oldest sister, Mariel, had married Brynna's oldest brother Kenton. At the wedding, both girls developed lifelong crushes on each other's older brothers - Jen pined for Domitan, even though he was far too old for her, and Brynna was madly in lust with Kavrenel, who was only three years older than they were. The girls usually ended their visits with a kiss to give to their brothers. It had always been a funny thing to them, but it didn't seem so funny when Danny, who had come out to look for Brynna, abruptly interrupted their farewell.

The girls had jumped apart from each other as soon as Danny bumped into them, but Brynna knew that her new leader would misunderstand what he saw. He didn't make any lewd or mean comments, but he did tell Brynna to get back to the barracks right way because he was conducting a surprise inspection of everyone's gear. Jen hugged her tightly one more time and then they both ran through the rain back to their separate barracks buildings. Danny made only the briefest eye contact with Brynna the whole time he inspected her equipment and she felt strange around him. Now, Brynna didn't realize she was holding her breath until her leader continued to speak.

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"I don't ... do very well ... with crowds of people." Danny stumbled over his words, forcing the pain in his heart to bury itself even deeper. "Now that we're ... away from all the noise and bustle of the barracks, I'm ... I'm going to ... tell you about ... what happened ... in the past." He swallowed hard and then continued. "You need to know ... so that you ... you'll understand why ... why we're going to do some things ... differently than what you learned in ... in your training."

"Jus' tell us what's on your mind, boss," Fin quipped, trying to lighten the mood. "You can spare us th' gory details, we're all big boys an' girls now."

Danny stared at the shaggy blond man who was supposed to be his second-in-command, and wondered again how much Buri had told him. Then he nodded once briskly. "Right. As some of you may have heard, my ... my old group ... was ambushed. I was not the leader then, but I ... I had been lured away and knocked unconscious ... and left for dead. The bandits were ... brutal. When I ... regained my senses and crawled back to our camp ..."

No one moved or said a word. This was the most their leader had said to them since the time they had been sorted.

Danny stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and then forced himself to continue. His voice now possessed a hard edge. "These bandits had ... _knowledge_ of the way we Riders operate. They knew exactly how ... how to take us down. Part of our mission now, is to work on ways for that ... for that to _never_ happen again."

Danny looked around and saw six nodding heads with determined expressions on every face. He had expected to see pity or revulsion, but no one seemed to be accusing him or holding him responsible for the losses of his former group. He was surprised not to see fear or anguish in anyone's eyes. Perhaps this could work out alright after all - if everyone survived. A tiny flicker of hope flared in Danny's pain-stricken heart, but his face remained stony.

"I think now's a good time t' check on our mounts." Fin said, with an air of authority that surprised everyone. "We've still got a ways t' go and I know _I'll _be happier when we can put up tents and get into dry clothes." He had come to stand next to Danny and slapped him on the back in a gesture of camaraderie and support. Although he wanted to, Danny did not pull away from the man. He agreed with Fin and since he didn't have anything more to say to the group, he nodded again and everyone started to pack up their belongings. By the time they got back on the road, the Sixteenth was in a little better disposition - their bellies were full, their leader had talked to them directly without yelling, and they had started to call each other by their first names.

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They had been traveling for about an hour and Danny was getting a headache from trying so hard to block out the bits and pieces of conversations that drifted into his thoughts. He wasn't ready to become friends with any of his group members and he didn't want to know that much about their families or anything that he deemed too personal. Danny did such a good job of blocking out all but his own thoughts, that he did not hear Brynna's pony as she came up to ride beside him at the front of their formation.

"Uh ... listen, Danny ... about last night," Brynna spoke to Danny in a somewhat low voice so that only he could hear her. "What you saw ... between me and Jen - it's not what you think--"

"It's fine, Brynna," Danny interrupted her, "Everyone's entitled to a private life - just so long as it doesn't interfere with your duties and responsibilities. I really don't care if you prefer women or men or dancing bears. I only care about you doing your job and not being distracted. Distractions get people killed. Understand?"

Brynna winced. "Yes, but--"

Danny's eyes tightened and he nearly growled at the girl, "I _said_ it's fine! I know some ... other women Riders ... who are like you. I respect them and the work they do - because they _work hard_ and they don't let their personal business hinder them. Just ... do your job, Brynna ... and _no_ fooling around within the group. That's something I _won't_ tolerate." Then he ended their conversation by nudging his pony forward and away from her.

Brynna knew she wouldn't be able to explain or clarify what happened any time soon. Danny thought what he thought and believed what he believed. She didn't want him to be wary of her actions around the other women in the group, so she decided it would be best for her to become just a bit more aloof. That wouldn't be too difficult since the group really didn't have a warm and friendly atmosphere anyway. Brynna sighed and dropped back into line with Cassidy. The foggy dampness suited her mood.

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**A/N: Aaaaand they're off! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It looks like the Sixteenth is in for a bumpy ride.**

**Please review and help us all to become better writers! **

_~~Ally-Marty~~_

**Keep reading!**

**-- Rider Group 16**


	4. Ch 2 Rainy Days are Here Again

_To Fight. To Love. To Live._

**Hey, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters! ****And I'm really sorry this chapter did not get out earlier, but I have no excuses!! I hope you enjoy:  
**

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_Brynna knew she wouldn't be able to explain or clarify what happened any time soon. Danny thought what he thought and believed what he believed. She didn't want him to be wary of her actions around the other women in the group, so she decided it would be best for her to become just a bit more aloof. That wouldn't be too difficult since the group really didn't have a warm and friendly atmosphere anyway. Brynna sighed and dropped back into line with Cassidy. The foggy dampness suited her mood._

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**Rainy Days are Here Again**

A day had passed since Danny recounted his sad tale to his riders, but as far as any of them were concerned, nothing had changed. There was still very little talk amongst them, and Danny was as silent as ever.

It seemed that beneath the canopy of trees, there was an eternal twilight. And the fog from the day previous had yet to relent. The heavy mist soon not only mirrored Brynna's mood, but the entire group's as well.

They continued to ride in formation, occasionally breaking to begin a muted conversation with a different member of their group. They rode in pairs for the most part, with the exception of Danny; who rode stoically as the leader. He never once joined in the hushed conversations that went on.

As the day passed through noon-time and into the evening, the discussions dwindled until all that could be heard were the soft cries of forest life.

There were times when the uneasy quiet would be broken by Danny whom gave the rest of his group advice on the animal prints that were pressed into the soft soil, or to identify the call of one of the birds. He would also point out diverse plant life; what was edible, and what was poisonous. His teachings were always curt, but the Riders found themselves enjoying learning some more practical aspects of nature while they traveled.

Each time the silence was almost too much to bear, Fin would try cracking a joke about the damp conditions they were riding in. Though, for the most part, they appreciated his light heartedness, Leon did not. Each time Fin opened his mouth; Leo would groan and glare at him. Fin ignored Leo's remarks with a shrug, and occasionally a grin that would make the other boy glare further.

It was obvious that none of the Riders were at complete ease with one another, but there was no open hostility between them. This began to change as the dismal atmosphere began to wear on everyone's nerves, causing their patience to be worn thin.

That night, as they stopped to set up camp, the irritation was clear in all of them. They dismounted from their horses holding in moans of pain from riding for those long hours.

The ground where they stopped was muddy in most places, so the group placed thick blankets on the ground where they would sit and eat their supper. None of them believed a wet butt would brighten their spirits in any way. A fire was built up in the middle of their circle, but the warmth did nothing to lighten the mood.

Fin, who was sitting next to Lilian, began a one-sided conversation where it was only he speaking. It seemed to the others that he took it upon himself to get her to speak, as they had heard barely one word from her the entire ride.

"So, name's Lilian, righ'?" Fin asked her in his usual cheery voice. He remembered hearing her name called the other day when the Sixteenth was formed. There was no response.

"You ride pretty well." He tried giving her a compliment, though he truthfully had not looked her way the entire day.

This time to Fin's pleasure, he received a response, albeit a quiet one. "I'm not one much for riding." Her long bangs fell before her eyes, concealing what she thought of Fin's attempted friendly banter.

"Aw, come on. You didna' look half bad." He replied wrapping an arm around her shoulders good-naturedly.

Lilian shrugged his arm off quickly, blushing at his compliment. She said nothing once again, which caused Fin to try even harder to get her to speak more than one simple sentence.

He asked her countless questions about where she lived, her family and friends, where she has traveled to before, even what her favorite color was, but he never received an answer. Finally the rest of the group was beginning to get annoyed at Fin's antics.

"Stop it Fin." Alexea of Kennan said with iron in her voice. "She obviously does not want to talk to you, so leave her _alone_."

Fin gave the noble a boyish pout and turned towards his supper bowl. He had neglected to eat it as he badgered Lilian. And now it, to his chagrin, was cold. He sighed, nothing like cold food to warm you up after a soggy day.

Cassidy heaved a sigh of relief now that he was finally quiet. "Thank you!" She said in a breathless voice to the sky above them.

Brynna chuckled quietly next to her. The two of them had chatted softly during most of their ride to keep themselves busy. Every once in a while Alexea would join in on the conversation, then go back to talk with Leo or retreat into line with Lilian.

Danny watched the Riders with silent delight. If any of his group had been watching, they would have seen one corner of his mouth twitch up in the closest thing to a smile he would ever give. His smile was not quite out of happiness, but amusement at seeing Fin told off by a noble girl.

He still could not stand Fin after his judgment the first time he met the boy, and seeing the girls go up against him was slightly pleasing for Danny.

He watched as the Riders dozed off one by one, until he too felt sleep beginning to take him.

...)(...

Danny was the first one to wake up the next morning and busied himself with packing up his sleeping mat before waking the rest of the group. This day's ride would be another long one, he could tell. The air was heavy and saturated, and it had the smell that comes before a rain storm. Lovely, he thought. Now they will have to listen to more of Fin's attempts to make a hundred different jokes about water.

He was just about to begin putting away the bowls from last night's supper, when a quiet voice stopped him.

"Do you need help?" Asked the tall blond haired girl; Lilian. Danny remembered she was incredibly shy; it must have taken at lot for her to come up and ask him if he needed help. He did not need help, after all it was only picking up a few bowls and putting them in his pack, but he accepted with a nod of his head before turning to tend to his mount.

He wondered why she was awake already instead of trying to get as much sleep as she could before the day truly began. Any respectful Rider would know that sleep could be hard to come by at times, you never waste a chance for rest. So why did she get up to help him when he had hardly spoken to them at all?

A dark voice in the back of his mind told him that she only asked to help him because she pitied him after his story the day previous. It was true what had happened was a horrible twist of fate, but what happened, happened. Danny loathed anyone who dared to pity him, at least to his face. But no, that could not be right, Danny told himself. He had seen no pity in her eyes when she asked, just the innocent want to help a fellow member of the Sixteenth Rider Group.

He suddenly realized that there was a multitude of shuffling noises behind him that had probably been going on for a while Danny was immersed in his own thoughts. He cursed himself for being so oblivious to his surroundings. It was those types of mistakes that could get them all killed, again. He turned around to see something that surprised him even more than a band of raiders standing behind him wielding weapons.

The other members were getting up now and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. They packed away their pallets with efficiency that surprised Danny. Hardly even conscious and they were already going about their duties. Even Fin, who he had deemed as lazy, was already readying his mount.

He realized that perhaps he should not have been so quick to judge the members in his group. He had been expecting to have to use force when waking them up from their slumber, and be required to wait for them to slowly pack their things away. The scene before him though said the exact opposite of his belief.

Danny watched his group from the side as they checked over their belongings. Every once in a while someone would walk over to another's mount and help them tie their pack onto the saddle without any exchanging of words.

It seemed to him that maybe, just maybe, things were beginning to look a bit brighter for the Sixteenth.

The sound of a horse galloping towards them along the small dirt trail interrupted his thoughts and caused Danny to draw his sword, but as the man got closer he realized that it was only a bone-weary messenger, and he re-sheathed it.

The messenger said nothing as he handed Danny a soiled piece of parchment, but waited for the leader's response as he scanned through the message. Danny closed the parchment and stuck it in his back pocket, nodding to the messenger.

"Time to mount up! We've been summoned to aid the Twelfth in Hill Country." He said as he turned towards the Riders. It was near impossible for him to contain his surprise at seeing his entire group already mounted and awaiting his orders, but he contained his emotions. Danny could have sworn he saw a smirk cross Fin's face before he turned back to the messenger, telling him that they would be there.

The man had only just left when a steady rain began to fall from the skies and through the canopy; soaking them all within moments.

Or maybe things were not going to be so bright after all.

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	5. Ch 3 Panic

_To Fight. To Love. To Live._

**Thank you to all our lovely reviewers, we've missed you.**

* * *

_"Time to mount up! We've been summoned to aid the Twelfth in Hill Country."_

_The man had only just left when a steady rain began to fall from the skies and through the canopy; soaking them all within moments._

_Or maybe things were not going to be so bright after all._

* * *

**--Alexa of Kennan--**

My grin faded a bit when I looked around. The other six members of sixteenth were all frowning and silent. The mood was glum. The weather was awful. I held back a tiny sigh. I thought your rider group was supposed to be like a family. What was wrong with our group?

I decided to speak up. Maybe all we needed was someone to start the conversation! "So where did you guys come from?" No answer. I tried again. "What made you want to be a rider?" Even I could tell that this was a pretty pathetic attempt.

"They obviously don't want to talk to you, so leave them_ alone_." Fin said, mimicking my words from yesterday, and the tone I had used. He grinned when he saw my jaw drop in surprise. After a few seconds I laughed. His grin grew. I could have sworn I saw the other members of our group trying to hide smiles. Except for Leon. He looked annoyed.

I rode a little faster 'till I caught up to him. "Hey Fin. You're not very creative with your remarks, are you?" I asked, joking around.

"I just couldn't resist throwing your words back at you. I had a feeling the expression on your face of being told off by a commoner would be priceless." He was smirking. As an afterthought he added, "I was right." I raised an eyebrow at his mention of being a commoner but before I could respond, or anyone else could, a slight rustle stopped us. We all halted our horses. Men started appearing in front of us and on the sides, coming out from behind trees. I glanced behind us. More people, some on horses. We were surrounded, and we were outnumbered. They were also all big and muscular. Even to a delicate empty-headed court lady it would be clear that this would be a hard fight.

I looked to Danny for orders, as did the rest of the rider group. He was still looking around, his eyes wide open. His arms were gripping his horse's reins tightly, knuckles white. He was panicking. Which made me nervous, which made me panic, which made it hard for me to fight, which made-- "Danny!" Fin hissed, cutting off my thoughts.

"It's just as before." He whispered. His eyes didn't blink. He had frozen and the bandits started closing in around us. Fin tried a few more times to get Danny's attention. So did the rest of us. When we couldn't get his attention I started getting more nervous. I mean, we were a small group of mostly green riders with a panicking leader against a bunch of really muscular, _huge_ men on big horses- we barely stood a chance! Then Lilian spoke up for the first time. Her voice was loud and clear.

Later I wouldn't be able to remember what she had said in that moment because I wouldn't be able to remember. I would remember**, **however, that whatever she said had gotten us to work together to fight off our attackers. Cassidy, Brynna, Leon, Lilian, and I worked to keep them from injuring us and our horses. Fin kept trying to 'wake Danny up' while fighting off a few of the men who tried to get to them, thinking them easy targets. Leon, for all he was moody, was a good fighter. Four men tried to attack him but he came away from the fight with just a few bruises.

There were two men who had targeted me. I chopped one of them down and got punched by the other before knocking him unconscious too. When I paused for a minute before jumping back into the fight to help Cassidy with a particularly big person, I could feel how strong the guy had been.

When Danny finally "woke up" he ordered us to ride away from the unconscious attackers. At least, we thought they were unconscious. We left before we could check if they were asleep or... dead. We each had a few scratches and cuts, but no major injuries.

"We need to be more careful in the future." Fin said. It sounded like his words were directed towards Danny. His voice was… Not exactly gentle, but not teasing. The closest thing it could be compared to was someone talking to a child. Danny nodded.

"It was...so...so like the last time. When-" Fin patted Danny's shoulder comfortingly but he turned away angry, Fin turned to Lilian.

"You did a good job. Commanding, I mean." He complimented.

"An amazing job." I agreed. There were nods around our group. She blushed slightly, and looked down.

"Thanks." She muttered, her voice just barely loud enough to be heard, there was a note of steel in it.

"Does anyone have anything that needs to be healed?" Danny said after a few moments of slightly awkward silence.

"I don't think so." Cassidy said, glancing around. "Uh- strike that… I think Leon needs some attention!" I glanced over at Leon just in time to see him fall down. I then noticed a long gash on his back, bleeding.

"Who here can heal?" Danny said, loudly. His voice had urgency, but the panic had faded. Now, it seemed as if the panic would be more deserved.

* * *

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	6. Ch 4 Quickly

**_To Fight. To Love. To Live._**

And thank you to all who reviewed!

* * *

_"Does anyone have anything that needs to be healed?" Danny said after a few moments of slightly awkward silence.  
_

_"I don't think so." Cassidy said, glancing around. "Uh- strike that… I think Leon needs some attention!" I glanced over at Leon just in time to see him fall down. I then noticed a long gash on his back, bleeding._

_"Who here can heal?" Danny said, loudly. His voice had urgency, but the panic had faded. Now, it seemed as if the panic would be more deserved._

* * *

"_I said_ who can heal!?" He asked again as the group stood looking at each other, his voice fighting to contain traces of panic or alarm.

"WHO CAN HEAL?" Danny repeated, his voice almost cracking as he looked around his group, who stood rooted in their spots.

"Gods damn it all! Why would she send us off with out even an inkling of a healer?" His words echoing around the silence, even Fin's ever-laughing eyes had turned grey.

"Get 'im some water," Fin demanded of anyone who was listening, kneeling besides Leon as his hands roamed over his back, pulling off the shirt, ignoring Danny's ranting.

"He's lost alot'er blood.'"

Quickly checking the unconscious boy to see if he was still breathing, Fin once again turned his attention towards the body sprawled almost in his lap. Giving the younger boy a once over with his experienced eye, Fin let a small sigh escaped his lips as he looked upwards at the faces surrounding him.

"If he doesn't get to a healer he's going to die," his voice calm and oddly informal.

Cassidy couldn't help but let her jaw drop as Fin took the water out of her hand.

Brynna's gasp, no matter how quiet it was resounded, rebounding around the trees.

Alex's hands flew to her mouth, her knees buckling under her until she slowly sat on the ground between the others.

Fin looked towards Danny, having hope that his leader would take charge, his own eyes growing large as he noticed how pale the man had become.

The minutes seemed to pass like hours, the only sounds from the standing ponies and the howling wind.

"Look, I'm so sorry. I don't know. I might be able to help him-- I don't know," Lilian's shy face mirroring the fear of the group, her voice holding none of the previous command.

"How?" Fin's worry making his voice more sharp than needed be, finally breaking the group out of its trance.

"Masbolle, blankets. Kennan, water. Reed, wood for the fire." Danny spoke the words softly, his tone making the girls jump to do as they were told.

Fin silently watched as Brynna, Cassidy and Alex scampered off in opposite directions; giving Danny a rare, thankful smile before turning to Lilian.

"How? How can you help 'im?"

"I-I sort of have the gift, but it might not work. It doesn't often work when I'm not around water. I'm sorry.'

"What?" Fin whispered, angry in disbelief. "Mithros girl! You have the gift an' kept quiet all this time!?" Only softening his voice when he realized how close she was to tears.

"Look, is there anyway you can help 'im until we get 'im to a real healer? Stop the bleedin'? Close the cut? It's the bleedin' I'm most worried about, with out the blood he's not going to last long."

Both Danny and Fin looked on at the girl, as she seemed to both blush and pale simultaneously, her face ending up almost grey in colour.

"I don't know," Lilian muttered into her shoes as Fin and Danny glanced at each other.

"I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed, her terror for once over-powering her shyness.

"I don't know," she muttered again, finally meeting Fin's eyes. "My gift doesn't usually work when I'm not near water… that's why I didn't tell anyone about it."

"I might be able to stop the bleeding but I don't know, I've never worked magic this far in land before. And I don't want to make him worse," her quiet plea obvious to even Danny.

"Look," said Danny, closing the silent meeting both he and Fin had been holding. "We're going to let you heal him, then we're going to wrap his back in bandages and ride like the Gods themselves to the closest town. Hopefully there we can get him fixed. Someone start a fire and set a pot of water a boiling, Alexea, go get the bandages from Leon's saddle pack, the rest of you try and find a way to help Lilian as best as you can and _don't_ get in her way. We need to get him healed and moved out quickly."

Danny barely even gave the group another glance as he walked up the path to the bodies they had just fought, his slumping shoulders un-noticeable to anyone but himself.

Fin's eyes followed the man as he walked away, wondering bitterly to himself if he would be of more use handling the dead men then anything else, before he slowly turned his head to where Lilian was kneeling besides Leon.

"Is…is there anything I can do to help?" He asked hesitantly, his lack of knowledge about magic making him uneasy.

"I don't know…I've never done this before," she murmured before taking a breath, visibly calming herself. "I think we need to clean of all the blood first, I can't tell how bad the cut is," she continued, meeting Fin's eyes for the second time this morning.

"Okay," spoken more to himself then anyone else, silently glad to be able to do something.

Lilian hardly even noticed as the boy walked towards Brynna, her eyes instantly on the boy at her feet.

It wasn't hard to figure out that Fin's words had been true about Leon, but with the amount of blood it was becoming difficult to see how deep the gash actually was.

"Here," panted Brynna as she thrust the water into her face, causing her to start. "Fin said to warm it a bit but it might be a bit hot."

Lilian couldn't help but stare at the smaller girl blankly, her thoughts still lost on Leo, before she offered her thanks, quiet enough to make Brynna strain her ears.

Quickly taking the pot of water out of the girl's hands and dipping the rags into the water, Lilian stilled her body before looking within herself as she had been taught, looking for magic.

Concentrating on the swelling pool within herself, Lilian was to busy to even notice the gasps as she felt the magic flowing into her hands bringing colour, the amount already taxing her.

_It was odd_, Lilian allowed herself to think for a second. _Never before has my gift ever worked this far inland from water and yet it comes easy. _

Steeling herself for a moment longer, Lilian threw one last glance at her surrounding team before drawing her hands over Leon's back. Even as she closed her eyes tightly, her mind saw all that her vision would have missed and within it she knew she only had scarce minutes before she would be forced to draw back from the boy's body, her magic causing her to collapse or pass out.

Within an instant it was clear that there wouldn't be enough time for her to actually heal the gash, only enough to close the skin, stopping the bleeding, nor was she sure if she actually had the power. Lilian worked quickly, knowing the magic was flowing out of her, it didn't take long for even the surrounding group to notice the shaking of her hands.

It wasn't long at all before she felt her magic finally trying to pull at her life source. Quickly finishing the closing of the gash, Lilian allowed her magic to finally settle, the pool within her mind stilling.

Opening her eyes, Lilian was barely rewarded with sight before the edges of her vision began to blacken.

"Quickly," she spoke with confidence, though her voice trembled, before the blackness surrounded, finally sending her crashing to the ground.

* * *

_And so the team come to a spot of bother... Dun, dun DUN! _

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_-- MopCat --_

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	7. Ch 5 Danny's Story

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**Disclaimer: We do not own anything you might recognize from Pierce's world. Her places and names are her own. We just own the people.**

**--  
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**_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Danny's Story **

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_Opening her eyes, Lilian was barely rewarded with sight before the edges of her vision began to blacken._

_"Quickly," she spoke with confidence, though her voice trembled, before the blackness surrounded, finally sending her crashing to the ground._

* * *

I came out into the bright sunshine of the day; there would be no riding with the Trainees so tired. Black Reef would be fine, and the merchant girl had recovered her fainting spell quicker than I'd thought possible, a good night's rest and she was already up and about. I was shaken from the events of the day before, but I thanked Mithros over and over for his mercy and for the fact that I'd lost no-one.

I walked out into the sunshine and thought.

I have met a fair share of immortals in my few years as a Rider, whether peaceful or not, it is irrelevant. Ogres fascinate me, the pacifist beings. Once one told me something I don't think I will ever forget, I remember not thinking about it twice then, and now, it seems like a sad reality: "you humans think you are unlucky to be mortal. You are wrong. It is a sad thing to never die, even if your comrades do, it is a sad thing to remember everything that has happened in your life. Human memories fade away eventually, immortals' don't."

Human memories fade eventually.

I used to think it sad, who would want to forget? I am not the lad I was once and I know that there could be no greater virtue for me now than to eliminate the memories of the past.

Like a new beginning. Like a new life.

I watch them, as they amble about, grooming horses and treating them to apples, basking briefly in the sun. Young men and women whom have much to learn, whom haven't yet grown into their bodies fully. And it's at times like this that I feel old, so very old, even if I am but a few years older than them.

It is true that experiences make you old quickly.

But it is not with anger or sadness that I look at them, but with contempt, and with some regret, as I see myself, once like them...

_Frisky pranced anxiously beneath me, she was as eager to begin as I was. I had seen the other Trainee's faces white with terror. I wasn't like them, I was a good tracker, one of the best, Sarge had said. I was a natural rider, and I would be a natural Rider. I hoped so at least. I was ready for a year of adventure, and then, hopefully, a lifetime of it, too._

_Kelsey grinned wolfishly at me, she was a very different girl than I had grown accustomed to. My parents had always tried to get me to take to one of the girls they proposed. Well-mannered, well 'bred', perfect cooks, stiff shoulders, fake smiles. The blonds and red-heads and brunettes, with ample bosoms and wide hips. If there was one thing my parents wanted, it was grandchildren. More my mother than my father really, my father was an easy-going man. Kelsey wasn't like that. She was a red-head who donned only breeches, (the horror!) and who acted like the worst of the teenaged boys I had met, and she never ceased to make me laugh. No matter how nervous I would start to feel. She and I would become friends, and, hopefully, something more. I smiled at her, and knew, even if she refused to show me, that it affected her. I loved older women! Once again, I found myself blessing my looks and wide shoulders. I wanted to grow faster, become taller, become a man quickly, I would be irresistible then._

_"Ready, new boy?" The group leader, in his twenties, was a cheerful man. He smiled more often than not, he looked like a man made for smiling, though the long scar on his cheekbone seemed to swell if he was angry. I hadn't been with them long enough to find out, but gossip spreads fast. I nodded, excited. He gave a throaty laugh._

_"Don't be too excited now, it's full of mud and hard work, and it'll be bloody, it's not a vacation." I rolled my eyes._

_"Are you related in any way to Commander Tourakom or Sarge?" I knew I could get away with a lot of cheekiness with this man, all the better. He let out a loud laugh again and wheeled his horse around._

_"Alright lads, ladies," he winked at Kelsey and I felt a kind of anger rise inside me, he was too old for her!_

_Two years. I spent two years with them, fighting alongside them until they became closer to me than family. They hit fast and hard in the night, the robbers. I woke to the sweet kiss of a sword on my neck and stared at the man's yellow eyes, he looked like the hunter from my childhood nightmares. I looked for my knife in the most discreet way possible and called myself ten kinds of idiot when I saw it in the man's belt. He grinned at me and then froze, gurgling slightly, saliva drooping down his face and past his chin. He toppled forwards and onto me, I wrenched the knife from his belt and crouched, ready to attack, he didn't move. I looked up, Kelsey stood there, clad in breeches, holding a blood stained blade and looking at me grimly._

_"You alright?" I nodded and she gave a nod back, turning to leave. I yelled a warning to her too late and watched as she too fell, large droplets of blood splattering against the canvas of my tent._

_I ran outside and didn't stop to think of my first killing as I stabbed the man in the stomach before pulling the blade out and cutting his neck, mercy killing._

_Kelsey wasn't dead, but the dirty blade of the robber had cut a main artery and she was slowly bleeding to death, my training came back to me in a whirl of thoughts. I needed to pinch it. Sounds of the battle however made me hesitate. There were a lot of them. Kelsey or the group? _

_That day I was forced to make the hardest decision of my life..._

I shook my head, trying to free it from the unhappy trap of memories, clear it of a day in my life I would rather die painfully than live through again. I wasn't ready for this, for leading a Rider group, I was three years older than the youngest; hell, Fin was almost my age!

I wasn't ready for this, but Buri knew what she was doing. She did. She did. Now I just needed to convince myself. I walked to Lilian whom attacked the dishes she was washing with a ferocity that clearly stated she did not want to be disturbed. I placed a hand on her shoulder and she whirled around, like a startled, paranoid rabbit. She crouched, blade up and in front of her aimed at my heart.

Fin whistled and said, "I like a girl who can protect herself."

I didn't turn around to see who hit him; it was probably one of the noble girls. Were there any non-noble girls? Cassidy Reed. Right.

"Easy, Trainee." I said, and she immediately slid the blade back to...her wrist sheaths. Hmm, why hadn't I noticed them? I had noticed Brynna's and Cassidy's, maybe that was because they wore three-quarter sleeves.

"My apologies, sir."

"It's Danny." She didn't answer, he hadn't expected her to.

"I wanted to ... thank you." He said, it had sounded much better in his head. Danny Baker did not 'thank' often. There was a moment of silence and she simply nodded, I was glad she wouldn't make a bigger deal of it, it hurt my pride to think that I'd had my hide saved by the greenest Trainee there ever was. I turned to leave.

"You should not have asked me to heal." That stopped me mid-step. I had expected her voice to sound different.

"We might have lost him."

"I could have killed him."

"But you didn't."

"I have no training. Masbolle does, you should have asked her."

This was news to me. I looked at Brynna of Masbolle, the girl with the braid and the freckles, she tried to meet my eyes but looked down almost right away. This shouldn't have surprised me. I should have known. I internally sighed, I would have to acknowledge my group now, and actually talk to them about what they could and could not do. I was tired, very tired of surprises.

"This trial year is to see who can keep their head in a fight, or to teach them to. To separate those who can and those who can't. Those who stay and those who go home."

When I ventured a sneaky check, I realized Masbolle had a look of steel on her face. Determination. Good. I hate weeping females.

"Masbolle and Black Reef can both help you in the future. But until then," I gritted my teeth. "Until then I will exercise my judgment and you would do not to question it." She didn't utter a sound.

"You are right, it is not my place."

"You have saved my life and that of this group, but you are a Trainee and you have been in the field for less than two weeks. Despite what you might think, you do not know everything." I knew it was harsh, I knew this was how they would learn; they wouldn't soon forget a public humiliation.

"Dan-"

I held up my hand, effectively silencing Fin. Lilian Seas bowed her head and left.

"But she was talking," Kennan sighed frustrated.

"And she will talk again." I told her, watching the bouncing brown curls walk away. She reminded me of someone, though I refused to acknowledge who.

"Yes, I'm sure you know best," Cassidy Reed muttered, Masbolle and Black Reef watched silently. I thought I heard a hint of acidity in her voice but she was gone when I looked at her, and the others drifted away too, soon it was simply Fin and I.

"She reminds me of--"

"Don't say it." I gritted out, bending to pick up the washing rag the girl had dropped when I'd startled her. I got to my knees and started to finish the plates, Fin got to his knees as well and helped. Not that I would ever admit it, I didn't mind Fin, and for all I complained of him to Buri, he was still one of my only friends, one of the newer members of the old Sixteen. He had been there too.

"You know, boss, you have a way of thanking people."

"Fin?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." We finished the clean up in silence.

* * *

The next day dawned bright and early and I think I found a sort of pleasure to waking everybody up when clearly all they wanted to do was sleep.

"The Queen's Rabbits won't rescue themselves, and we have some riding before us still, quite a bit. Mount up!" I hollered the last part, and watched as some birds took flight from the trees. The no-longer-wounded boy with black hair, Leon, sat atop his horse and rested his head on the horse's neck; "Wake me up when something interesting happens, like lunch." He was lazier than Fin; I hadn't known that was possible.

"Leo, you are such a slob." Cassidy Reed sneered, poking the prone boy. She looked much more amused than angry, giving a rare smile.

"Shurrup Cass'." They knew each other previously then, they must have been in the same training session.

"Cass?" Brynna rode up, looking more attentive, if not fully awake.

"Cassidy gets to be too long."

"I know what you mean, I much prefer Alex to Alexea."

"I'm sure your conservative mother loves that." Cassidy chuckled.

"Well, my brothers call me it at least, that's something," The girl sighed, she had the look of someone whom had been having this argument for a long time. Nobles. Erk. That sounded like something Kelsey would say.

"Did the almighty Commander just smile?" Fin's drawl was slurred even more than usual with sleep as he nudged his horse up beside mine.

"Insubordination," I muttered, making him grin. My smile, however, was long gone.

The morning was a continuous ride and quite silent, but, knowing the people I had been saddled with, I knew it couldn't last.

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**Hmm, this is my first piece published on this site, and, truth be told, I'm a little worried (don't tell xxTunstall Chickxx that), so, if you would review and let me know what you thought? Please?**

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**P.S. Our travels are mapped on our profile picture, for whomever is interested.**


	8. Ch 6 Spiderdeath

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to favourites and/or alerts. **

**Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize comes from the world of the wonderful and talented Tamora Pierce. The storyline and most of the characters alone are ours, one each.**

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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Spiderdeath**

* * *

_"Did the almighty Commander just smile?" Fin's drawl was slurred even more than usual with sleep as he nudged his horse up beside mine._

_"Insubordination," I muttered, making him grin. My smile, however, was long gone._

_The morning was a continuous ride and quite silent, but, knowing the people I had been saddled with, I knew it couldn't last._

* * *

We were making good time after we left our clearing but I kept seeing each of my group turning to check on me. It was infuriating; they were all treating me like an incapable infant. Everyone except Danny of course; I think he was still beating himself up over the ambush. He seemed like he was in pain. He had the most tortured expression on his face. I cannot think why though, I was the worst injured and I felt fine. Nobody held it against him... except perhaps him.

Fin was riding next to him; Danny, I knew, would love that. I saw that I was not the only one that Fin was concerned about. He kept glancing at Danny and trying to give him his usual easy-going grin but it looked a little forced. It seemed Danny was finding him a little irritating.

I was riding with Cass. I knew her the best out of everyone in our group. We did the training week together.

'Leo, how you doin'?' Fin had turned around in his saddle to peer at me.

'I'm fine Fin. You can stop mothering me now.' I rolled my eyes at Cass and she grinned. Alex giggled and I raised an eyebrow at her.

'Just the thought of F-fin being mothering.' She spluttered an answer to my unasked question. I rolled my eyes at her antics.

'Insubordination; I am your senior!' Fin yelled, imitating Danny I presume.

'Fin you know the Riders don't hold with that rubbish. If you want respect join the Own or the Regulars.' I laughed at the glare that followed my suggestion.

* * *

That night it rained, Mithros it rained. We were lucky though, it started before sundown. I saw Brynna looking anxiously at Danny. I knew what she was thinking. Even he couldn't possibly think that we could push on through the rain. Even Mellow was getting a little jittery and my horse got her name for a reason. Ember was no different, she's always jittery.

Fin made some stupid comment to Cassidy and she laughed, I wasn't listening. It was probably another stupid rain joke. I watched Danny.

'Sir?' That was Lilia surprisingly.

Fin rode over to me and whispered in my ear. 'If ever I wan' ta talk ta her I'll pull that pretty horse tail and make her angry, t' seems to 'ave worked f'r Danny.' I glared at him. Lilia is quiet but Fin constantly making jokes about it can't be helping. 'Fine, pretend ta be in agony. Danny! I think Leo needs to stop. His back's giving him troubles.

Danny scowled at me, I don't think it fooled him but I think the fact that we were willing to try it made him decide to let us stop for the night. We set up camp, I used my meagre gift to dry the wood and Brynna set it alight.

Dinner was disgusting; it was Fin's turn to cook. I traded watches with Cass, for some reason she always wakes up an hour before dawn, no matter what. That meant I got to sleep in.

Sitting there on my watch after everyone else had gone to bed I thought about Talia. My sister would already be asleep in her comfortable bed at convent school. I didn't think about my brother.

I saw Lilia coming but I didn't hear her. She sat down next to me. She muttered something about not being able to sleep and then we sat in companionable silence; both thinking our own thoughts. At least I was so I was surprised when she spoke.

'Thanks for that with Fin.' I had to lean in to hear her soft voice. I looked at her; her bangs shielded her eyes so I couldn't read her face. I doubt I could anyway actually. 'You don't have to you know; stick up for me. I don't mind.' We didn't talk after that except to say goodnight when she took over the watch.

* * *

After riding all day we rode into a tiny village called Lirick well after dark. By this time we were all longing for real beds. None of us looked at Danny to ask though. We knew we'd used up our luck for a while.

Cass and Lilia took me to the village Healer. If you could even call her a Healer; I think most of her experience in healing came from working as a midwife. She ran her hands over my back a couple of times and proclaimed me cured. She charged us an excessive amount because we work for the Crown.

I saw her talking to Lilia before we left. Lilia had that look on her face, the one that said that she would do anything. When the Healer bid us farewell she was staring at Lilia as she said 'Goddess Bless'.

Danny went with Alex to enlist a local merchant's help in delivering our report to Corus. Because the man they found was taking his harvest into the capital we knew that he would get there quickly.

In the end we did end up staying at the inn.

'This is on one condition' Danny insisted as we unsaddled and fed the horses. 'We have to be out of here as soon as possible and that means getting up at dawn.' Under normal circumstances I would have complained but I knew that Spiderdeath needed us as soon as possible. Even Fin agreed.

We ate together in the inn's main room. The food was tasty, not particularly special but after the food we'd been living off for days it was exquisite.

Fin kept us entertained with his jokes; I don't mind them so much when I'm not miserable and wet. He made some crack at travelling minstrels and Cassidy took offense. She didn't realise he was just trying to rile her up. The argued for half an hour and were still going at it as we all split up to go to our rooms.

I saw Lilia heading towards the stable as I went in. Normally I would have checked on Mellow and Ember myself but I knew Lilia would check all of them. I was also very tired.

I fell into my comfortable bed and slipped into sleep immediately. I was warm and full at last.

* * *

We woke before dawn as promised, paid the innkeeper and left. I saw a young child watching as we rode out, her eyes wide. Fin saw her too and gave her a mock bow from his saddle. She giggled and I couldn't help but smile at the look of absolute delight on her face.

I was riding Ember and leading Mellow with my spare hand as we set off. We swapped horses periodically of course but we only briefly stopped for lunch. We were within a day's ride of Spiderdeath and we were all getting anxious. We were behind schedule. According to Fin Riders are always behind schedule but I don't entirely trust what he says. I trust him but not what he says, if that makes sense.

When we stopped for lunch I took Mellow and Ember down to a nearby stream. Lilia had beaten me there. She had released her horses and let them drink freely. She had also stripped off her shoes and socks, rolled up her breeches and waded into knee deep water. Her eyes were closed and her hands were immersed in the water. I moved further up the stream so as not to disturb her.

Danny gathered us around about ten minutes later and we set off again. Fin was still eating as we rode out.

Just before nightfall we reached our destination. We were all tired and we didn't know what to expect. Danny led the way up to a small bluff and looked over. We joined him. We had found Spiderdeath.

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**Sorry this took so long everyone. I hope it wasn't too bad. **

**Please review!**

**_Tamora Pierce Junior_**

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_**

**-_-RiderGroup 16-_-**


	9. Ch 7 The Climb

**Thank you to all our amazing reviews. Your support is appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize comes from the world of the wonderful and talented Tamora Pierce. The storyline and most of the characters alone are ours, one each.

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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**The Climb**

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_Danny gathered us around about ten minutes later and we set off again. Fin was still eating as we rode out._

_Just before nightfall we reached our destination. We were all tired and we didn't know what to expect. Danny led the way up to a small bluff and looked over. We joined him. We had found Spiderdeath._

_--  
_

* * *

Or, what should have been Spiderdeath.

The clearing was eerily empty of life, and the packs made long sloping shadows on the ground, shadows that looked out of place under the shining sun. There was no sign of the horses or their riders even though objects of value were still in the packs.  
Danny cupped his hands over one another on top of his mouth and raised his face to the sky, moving his right hand in a constant rhythm. He let out a loud undulating cry resembling a bird's call. He repeated the cry three times. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and pursed his lips, surveying the ground around them with ice cold blue eyes.  
There was no answer.

Fin dismounted first and made his way to the packs, checking them, looking them over, opening them. The shaggy blond shook his head.

"Food's here, weapons, e'erythin'. Huh."

"That means they meant to come back. Where are the spare horses? They're supposed to be here." Alexea said, looking around, her straight brown hair swishing back and forth, red lips pouting in confusion.

"They were picketed, they're gone." Brynna of Masbolle commented, whole body in a crouch on the ground, light fingers trailing holes in the earth where picks had once been. Her sandy brown hair was fighting to be freed of its braid, she looked as she ever had; simple and practical.

"They weren't stolen, or else whomever it was would have taken the packs as well." Cassidy Reed said, frowning. Her curly blond hair was pulled away from her face in very much the same way as Brynna's, it too unsettled after their long ride.

"Which means one thing; they ran away." Danny said, drawing his sword, not many Riders wore swords, they were almost always a noble's weapon. Lilian, just a heartbeat behind him drew her long, ebony bow.  
Brynna, to Danny's mild surprise, took a running leap and landed on her horse's back squarely. Danny had always figured that her short height would be a liability in a fight when she needed to climb quickly, he was glad to be proved wrong. The other five crowded around him, backs to one another. Five? Where was Fin?  
There was silence. Not the nice kind of the silence, not the one where it is just you and nature, where the sun is shining and the world is at peace. No, this was the kind of cruel silence where every rustling leaf is an enemy, every cricket song is a a whistling arrow, every breath of wind is a weapon at your shoulders.

"Fin,"Danny growled softly. "When I get my hands on you," he muttered darkly before pulling his horse out of the little battle-ready circle.

"Danny--" He turned his head back to look at Alexea of Kennan, a girl who always spoke first and thought later, as this case was. She ducked her head; "Sir..."

"For all that Fin's stupidity will get him killed one day, he is still a member of this group, we fight as a group, Kennan."

"Could you call me by my name; Alex?" She snapped angrily, eyes blazing, "and I wasn't telling you not to go find him, I was going to say to wait for a moment, but I guess you're too good for that, huh?" She wheeled her horse around and rode passed him, not looking at him once. Danny gritted his teeth, he really didn't like nobles.

"Danny," For someone with as white a face as Fin Gran's to begin with, it is hard to look pale, but somehow, he managed to convey his slight unnervement perfectly well.

"Where the hell did you go?" Danny seethed at him.

"What's wrong?" Cassidy Reed, the humanitarian pulled up beside Fin. Great, Danny thought, just perfect. All we need is for her to start cuddling him.

"You've got to see this." Fin mounted his horse and rode forwards, Danny rolled his eyes and signaled his group to follow him, they were all lined up behind him, watching wearily.

"Well, what is it?" Annoyance was a concept Danny Baker knew quite well, but that did not mean he enjoyed it, especially when a whole Rider group was missing.

"Look up." Large white...things...hung from trees.

"What in the Goddess' name are those things?" Cassidy Reed asked, looking up perplexed. Her brown eyes were squinting at the suspended objects, trying hard to recognize what they were.

"They look like...giant beehives." Leon of Black Reef muttered running a hand through his short dark curls.

"What's a beehive?" The group as a whole turned to stare at Lillian, whom, not for the first time, Danny had forgotten was even in the group. He didn't mind her, in a way, at least she didn't chatter away like Cassidy, Alex and Fin. Lilian was a very quiet type, curly brown hair always pulled back, her hand always running through her bangs, pushing them back, out of her eyes. Her eyes were a stormy grey and eerily old, as if she had lived a hundred years and seen a thousand things.

"A beehive is a place where bees make honey." Brynna explained patiently, not taking her eyes off the white...blobs.

"We could shoot one down," Leon said, gaging the distance with his thumb and second finger.

"Yeah, and if it is a beehive, I want to see you ride away from angry bees with this heat and in this mud. Brilliant plan." Alex snapped, obviously still angry with Danny.

"Well, it's decided then." Brynna said, hopping off her saddle. She walked to the base of one of the thick, tall trees. Placing her hands on the trunk, she heaved herself up. Well, Danny mused, she's won my respect.  
The tree had no branches, just a long trunk but it had small bumps all along it and the trunk was uneven. It was a typical tree in this bog-like habitat. This, of course, was not helpful to the girl. Brynna if Masbolle may have been short but she was an excellent climber and her small feet made quick work of the small ridges. It's just like home, she kept repeating to herself, just like the trees at home. Her climb was not as smooth as the ones she would do at home, seeing as there were no branches, she had to hug the tree tightly with both arms and legs and slowly shimmy up, once in a while using a small foothold. The work was both physically and mentally exhausting and her muscles screamed in frustration when she was three quarters of the way up.

"Damn," Fin muttered, shaking his head and scratching his uncut stubble.  
And then there she was, reaching out with one hand to the object, she had reached the part of the tree where the branches grew.

"If that's a beehive you come straight down," Danny called up, he did not want to deal with bees. And he would not want to be if her that was a beehive either.

"Yes, mother," came her dry response. Fin laughed at the look on Danny's face. Danny just shook his head in amazement, multitasking, not scared of him, not scared at climbing a twenty-foot branch-less tree, and cute too. No doubt her parents at Masbolle had someone lined up for her already. _Too bad she didn't like men_, he thought, remembering the time he's walked in on her and the girl from Legann.  
Suddenly something dripped down onto the ground.

"What was that?" Leon asked, looking up.

"Did that come from the thing?" Alex asked.

"She retched, look, she's falling!" Lillian pointed, surprising the group once more by talking. The surprise was short lived however as Danny saw Brynna sway.

"Don't you dare fall," he called up to her, jumping off his horse. She looked down at him.  
"Don't look down, either!" He ripped his shirt off, knowing it would just catch on the resin.

"Brynna, look at the trunk in front of you, hold on, with both hands now. Danny, hurry!" Alexea yelled up, once more calling him by his first name.  
Danny didn't bother to answer as he made his own way up the tree. He didn't dare look down. He wasn't afraid of heights, but looking down would not make him feel better, and why tempt fate? Whatever Brynna had seen up there, to upset someone like her, it had to be bad.  
When he was close enough to see her eyes, he felt better, she was not terrified, she just looked sick.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he reached where she was. She looked at the white beehive, there was a hole where she had cut with her knife.  
Skin. It was a foot. Danny looked at her and gulped slightly. What the hell was this?

"Help me with this," he said, knowing she had regained some composure at least.  
They slowly, carefully, cut away pieces of the substance, exerting their muscles to their fullest extent as they cut with two hands. Danny knew he would be sore in the morning.  
Small patches of what had to be a human male were starting to show through, his clothes were much worse for wear.  
Brynna tried to focus on anything other than the task at hand, she didn't know why she was disgusted so much right now. She had seen some gross things in her life, but this was too much, truly. She was someone who didn't get sick very often, so when she did, it was for a reason. She looked above her, but that didn't help with the cutting, she tried to focus on her knife but her gaze would wander to what she was exposing. She finally settled her gaze on Danny's bare chest. He really did have a nice chest. And boy were his muscles strong. Especially over his abdomen, there were six lines there, the sign of a male in peak physical shape.

"Definitely a Rider," Danny said, shaking his head.

"Don't mind us, ya know, we're just here for the show, not like we care about wha'ever you're doing up there." Fin called up, sarcasm dripping with vexation.

"We've found Spiderdeath, now either get up a tree and help, or shut the hell up." Danny called down. Brynna chuckled, rolling her eyes and Danny found himself giving her a crooked smile before shaking his head slightly and getting back to the task at hand. What was he thinking? They were very high up in a tree cutting away sticky substance from a Rider that was hanging from a tree, and he was flirting! Oh, for Trickster's sake.

"What?" Cassidy Reed's voice was an octave higher than he remembered it.

"You heard me, they're in these things." Danny called back. He saw both Cassidy and Fin head to the tree to their right.

"Go up in pairs, stronger person on the bottom, watch where you're going and be careful." Danny told them. He wanted to call out to Cassidy to go second, seeing as she had started up the tree and Fin was staring unabashedly where he knew he shouldn't be, but his warning was cut off by a small scream.  
He looked at Brynna who clutched an arm to her shoulder and swayed again. He grabbed her elbow and she shook him off, looking above her.

"What on earth...?¨  
"Shut up." She hissed, he remained stunned for a moment before looking above them.

"What is it?"

"I don't know yet." She groaned again as she pressed her right hand onto her left shoulder more forcefully. He moved her hand aside and she stifled a yell. Whatever was on her shoulder, it was blue. And...burning her?  
"We need to get down right now." He told her wrapping his handkerchief around her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Looks like acid, smells like acid,"

"Acid?" She whispered, turning her head to look at her shoulder and hunching over in pain.

"This guy isn't wrapped up," he said, jabbing his finger at the hanging man, "he's cocooned and we're about to get company." her eyes widened and she whipped her head up again, and opened her mouth-- he wrapped a big hand over her lips.

"Here's something useful to know in the field," he whispered, "Spidrens don't have a very good sense of smell, the blood they drink and violent smells they live in burn what would be their nostrils. Wind's not blowing his way, so if you're very quiet and very still, he might not notice you until we've decided how to get down from here, got it?" She nodded slowly and swallowed. Danny cursed, if he didn't die today he would thank Mithros every day of his life. A Spidren had appeared much higher up on the tree and was sniffing around, it had probably been attracted by the sound of Danny's voice.

"Danny, he's going to fall." Brynna whispered hurriedly, looking at where the thing was actually attached to the tree. The strands holding it up were slowly snapping one by one.

"All Gods damn us," Danny cursed, "please tell me you have a rope." At the shake of Brynna's head he cursed so foully (yet quietly) that Brynna's eyes widened momentarily.

"The clock is ticking, his minutes are counted." Danny said impatiently, the skin on his scalp prickling with beads of sweat, all too aware of the strands snapping above him and the beast that would come eat them the moment they moved.  
They both stared at the snapping strands until Brynna shook her head slightly, as if to clear it and reached up towards the hanging man. A light turquoise tinge took a hold of the cocoon and Danny looked up at the Spidren who was staring at its glowing prey.

"Whatever you're doing, do it quickly." Danny muttered, not moving his eyes from the confused Spidren.

"It's awfully big." Brynna murmured, sweat pooling on her brow.

"I've never seen one this size, and it's strange it's alone." Danny whispered back. He stared at the last string of goo as it thinned and thinned...and snapped. He was about to surge forwards when he noticed the man wasn't falling. Very slowly, small tendrils of turquoise were wrapping around the branch. Brynna was turning a sickly pale colour and was shaking when the fifth strand wrapped around the branch. A few more wrapped themselves around when Danny shook her slightly.

"That will do, and you fainting on me will not help anything."

"I'm a healer, not a war mage or normal mage." She told him, watching the sweat pour down her face but not daring to go wipe it off. The Spidren was very, very high up, but why take the risk?

"Well, thanks to you, we're not Spidren meat just quite yet." Danny muttered, relieved. However, he was not yet fool enough to think they were out of the murky waters.

"What is taking you so long?" Fin yelled up from very far down. The two froze and lifted their eyes to the Spidren. The moment Danny locked eyes with the Spidren, he knew it had seen them.

"Go!" Brynna yelled at him, he started climbing down, half dropping and then grabbing the tree to save himself. The adrenalin in his veins impeded him from wincing as chips from the wood embedded themselves into his bare torso. Brynna scrambled after him as fast as she could. The Spidren was gaining, smiling cruelly at him.  
Danny's cry came too late as Brynna screamed and fell. Danny grabbed her hand as she passed him and grunted with the effort of holding her aloft. She screamed slightly at the pain from her wrist but she had worse things to deal with, she was tangled in the sickly web. The web was a brilliant green, like he'd never seen it.  
The Spidren's smile grew as it caught up with the two...it screeched an inhuman screech and threw it's ugly head back. An arrow protruded from its side. Another arrow joined the first, Danny could only stare at the foul beast, not daring to look for the shooter. A third arrow made it drop. Danny squashed himself against the trunk, swinging Brynna against the trunk as well to avoid the dropping beast.  
Brynna in the mean time did her best to hack at the sticky substance with her one free hand, she had managed to get her knife out of her belt and it was finally doing the trick. She reached for the trunk and wrapped her arms around it, tugging out of Danny's death-grip.

A roar sounded from somewhere in the treetops above them and they started climbing back towards the ground as fast as they dared.  
Brynna, being under Danny reached the ground first, getting to a few feet and jumping before rolling out of the way. She cradled her wrist against her stomach, it was sprained if not cracked and she didn't have an ounce of energy in her from trying magic that she wasn't meant to perform.  
The ground had never looked so good.  
The other four were already there, waiting for them as they had thought to bring up rope. They had slowly lowered their cocooned men and women from the trees into Lilian's arms.

"Who killed it?" Danny asked, staring at the trees where rustles where heard.  
"Danny--"  
"Just answer the Goddamned question!"  
"I did," Lilian surveyed the trees still, bow raised and following her eyes, constantly turning.  
"Well, that's twice you've saved my life Lillian, I--"  
"Call me Lilia, please." she murmured, still not looking at him.  
"Well, Lilia, I guess I owe you another one." Another inhuman bellow sounded above them. Fin walked to the twitching Spidren on the ground and slit its throat.

"I don't think they liked that you killed this brute," Cassidy Reed said, her own bow strung and raised.  
"And Spidren always return for revenge," Leon's voice resonated, the sing of steel being drawn and the twang of bows being strung amplifying it.  
"The fight with the bandits, that wasn't a fight." Danny made a point to tear his eyes off the surroundings and look each of his group members in the eye. "It wasn't and we got off lucky that they didn't come after us, we could have died, we would have most probably. That wasn't a fight, this will be. Follow mine and Fin's lead. Follow Lilia's." He looked at her as she gasped.  
"You did it once, you can do it again, I want to see if you can. As soon as they come out, I want you to tell me what to do." She shook her head violently.

"If you can't learn to do your job, then I don't want you here. You do this, or you don't. It's your choice. I need to know whether I can depend on you or not in battle. I need to know whether or not you'll get us killed if I give command to you, do you understand me?" She nodded. "Say it."  
"Yes, sir." She bit out, looking rather violent.

Danny knew he had Brynna's and Fin's loyalty, as it had been proven today, but whom else's? He need respect and loyalty, he just hoped this battle would bring him it. Battle almost always brought comradeship as well. He hoped it would in this case too. He wanted his group to stop acting like strangers.  
"Leon, how're you feeling?" Leon took his eyes off the trees and gave him a weird look.

"Good..."

"Great, now everyone make a circle, I need you to heal Brynna."

"We've got company!" Cassidy shouted. Everyone's heads snapped up to where another massive Spidren's head appeared from the branches of a tree.

"Heads, six o'clock!" Alex called, a Spidren had started to come down at their backs.

"Time to party," Fin said, blade raised once more, his wide shoulders squared.

"Brynna!" Leon called, and in the midst of all of the chaos, Brynna chose that moment to faint

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**Gah, I'm pretty evil aren't I? So now our favorite Riders have gotten into yet another spot of bother.**

**Please review.**

**xxTunstall Chickxx**

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**-_-RiderGroup 16-_-**

**10/06/09  
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	10. Ch 8 Waking the Dead

**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**

**Disclaimer: All of Tortall belongs to Tamora Pierce. We just like to play around in her world.**

**A/N: Thanks for the encouraging reviews! We want you all to keep reading our work and tell us honestly what you think of it. Writing is one of our passions, but writing **_**well**_ **is our goal. Enjoy! :D**

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_"Heads, six o'clock!" Alex called; a Spidren had started to come down at their backs._

_"Time to party," Fin said, blade raised once more, his wide shoulders squared._

_"Brynna!" Leon called, and in the midst of all of the chaos, Brynna chose that moment to faint._

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**Waking the Dead**

Brynna wondered why her brother sounded so blasted frantic. After all, it was just a tiny spider in the corner of the pantry cupboard and there really was no cause for alarm. She'd just swat the little creature and it would die. "I got it! I got it!" Brynna exclaimed as her hand whooshed through the air to squash the spider.

White hot tendrils of pain radiated up from Brynna's wrist and her blue-green eyes flew wide open. She was completely disoriented by what she saw and heard all around her. Obviously, she was not at home and the person calling her name was her fellow Rider, Leon, and not her youngest brother. The pain she felt came from her severely sprained wrist. Then she remembered the cocoons. Then she remembered the spidren attack. She bit down on her lip to prevent herself from retching again.

"Brynna! Thank the Goddess, you're awake!" Leon exclaimed frantically and then he spoke so quickly that his words all ran together in her ears. "I've got to try to heal you somehow, but you know my healing Gift isn't very strong. I can build on your ability to self-heal, but I don't know what you want me to do first. We have to burn the spidren venom out of your shoulder before it spreads any more and we have to heal your wrist so that you can fight. It's your choice. You'll have to help me help you. Do you have any strength left in your Gift at all?"

The sandy-haired novice Rider shook her head to clear it of all the babble and Leon misunderstood her action.

"You used up all of your healing power getting that Rider down safely, didn't you?" Leon muttered bitterly to himself. "Mithros! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Huh? What?" Brynna asked, still confused by the noise of the nearby battle and the pain that had muddled her thinking. "Leon, if you concentrate on my wrist, then we both can get out there and fight. We don't have time to deal with the venom. Just...just wrap up my shoulder very tightly to keep it from spreading. Hurry! They need our help!" She was insistent.

Leon did as Brynna had asked and in a short time they had joined the fight against the three remaining spidrens. Three more of the ghastly beasts already lay twisted and dead on the ground nearby. Fin and Alex had all but killed their next attacker, but Lilia was having a difficult time shouting orders as she dodged the poisonous blobs of venom that kept flying toward her. One of Cassidy's legs was stuck in webbing and she struggled to free herself while Danny hacked away at the sticky strands to help her escape before the screeching spidren reached them.

Leon and Brynna both leapt up to assist Lilia, Leon chopping off two of the massive spidren's legs as he took a running pass at it. Brynna dodged a blob of venom and then shot two arrows at the beast. The pain in her shoulder was almost unbearable and she had begun to sweat profusely from the effects of the venom which was already in her system. Fortunately, Brynna's quick actions distracted the injured spidren long enough for Lilia to get a good shot at it and the arrow pierced its throat.

The three Riders then looked around to see that Fin and Alex had killed their spidren and had arrows at the ready in case another one showed up. Both Lilia and Brynna shot arrows into the spidren that had been attacking Danny and Cassidy and the beast fell to the ground with a loud crash. Danny looked behind him, made eye contact with Lilia and nodded to her.

"Alright, Sixteenth!" Lilia yelled, "Everyone pair up and fan out to search for more spidrens. We want to get to them before they get to us. Brynna, are you sure you're alright?"

Brynna nodded, but swayed on her feet. The exertion had caused the venom to spread faster and she fell to her knees and vomited. Lilia turned to Leon with a questioning look in her eyes.

"She only wanted me to heal her wrist so that we could help fight!" Leon sounded anguished. "I wrapped her shoulder, but I guess it wasn't enough."

Danny ran over to Brynna and checked her pulse. "When I told you to heal her, I meant _all the way_. It's no good if we lose her because of her own stubbornness. You've got to stop the venom, Leon. _Now! _Lilia, you'd better help him."

An angry bellow from far above caused all of the Riders to look up into the trees again. The largest spidren any of them had ever seen was crashing down to attack them. The monster didn't get very far before four different arrows pierced its throat and both eyes. It dropped down and hit the ground with an earth-shaking. Everything was deathly quiet, except for the sound of the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze.

"Mithros!" Fin exclaimed while gaping in amazement at the dead spidren. "I've ne'er see such a giant one as that! And it appears to be a... _female_!"

"I've never seen anything like this one, either," said Danny, scratching his head, "I wonder what happened here. These spidrens must have surprised the Twelfth Rider Group all at once, but...that's so _odd_."

"What do you mean?" asked Cassidy as she worriedly watched Leon and Lilia pour their healing powers into the effort of saving Brynna.

"This is too strange," Danny replied, worry creeping into his voice. "First of all, spidrens don't normally wrap up their food for future meals. If they catch you, they eat you right away, preferring their food to be extremely fresh. Secondly, they aren't that smart and they're usually very territorial - they rarely hunt in a large group like this. Thirdly, I've never seen such an alliance of only one female and six males. It's almost like a...like a--"

"Harem?" Alex interjected.

"Exactly!" Danny said, his face coloring slightly at the thought that the noble-born girl would know about such things.

Alex continued, "I wonder if there's an egg sack getting ready to hatch up high in those trees."

"If there is, then I don't think there are any more of the adult spidrens," Cassidy's voice sounded confident, "The female wouldn't have left her place unless she'd lost all other protection for her eggs. We'd better find it and destroy it before they hatch or we'll _really_ have our hands full."

Danny nodded his agreement. That almost made sense of what they'd seen and experienced so far: if the eggs were near to hatching, then the mama spidren would want a large supply of food nearby. The unlucky Twelfth almost had become the food source for the hatchlings. He glanced over his shoulder toward the prone bodies of the Riders of Spiderdeath and had to stop himself from yelping as he saw a hand rise up from one of the men on the ground. Cassidy did scream.

Alex looked to see what had upset Cassidy and saw the legs of one of the female Riders begin to twitch violently. "They...they're alive!" she exclaimed and ran over to look closely at the unconscious members of Spiderdeath. "They must've only been poisoned. Danny, we still might be able to save them!"

Lilia, who had 'lent' as much of her magical Gift as possible to Leon to help 'burn out' the venom from Brynna's body, looked over and saw Alex's wide eyes. It felt as though something 'clicked' in her mind and she knew she could help Spiderdeath. She just needed a way to replenish her own power before she could do any good.

"I need water!" Lilia croaked, too weak to yell. "If you get me some water, I can help!"

Cassidy heard Lilia's plea and remembered that the seafaring girl had needed a lot of water once before to give her Gift enough of a boost to help heal Leon. She turned to the others and said, "Can someone come with me to find water? Spiderdeath stopped here -on their own- before they knew about the spidrens, so there must be a water source nearby. You know--a stream or a pond or something."

"I'll go with Cass," Fin offered, making eye contact with Danny, who nodded his approval. "We'll be needin' water to wash all tha' muck off 'em anyway."

It didn't take them long to find a large pond just beyond a thick strand of trees. They also found several loose ponies nearby, munching on the lush grasses that grew at the edge of the water. Filling the two large leather bladders that they had carried with them, Fin and Cassidy got water and took it back to the clearing.

By the time they returned, Danny was lecturing a revived, but exhausted-looking Brynna and a scowling Leon about the importance of full, not partial, healings. Lilia had discovered that five out of the six stricken Riders were alive. Apparently the spidrens had sedated them with a substance that kept them barely alive to maintain freshness to feed their young. There was hope for reviving Spiderdeath --that is, if the water mage could muster enough power to administer her healing Gift.

Fin and Cassidy delivered the water to Lilia and told Alexea about the ponies by the pond. Then they waited for Danny to come over to them once he finished his little tirade at Brynna and Leon.

"Gods-cursed, know-it-all, mule-headed nobles!" Danny muttered as he stomped across the clearing, "They think they know what's best for them all the time. Always trying to be heroes or somethin'." He looked up and saw Alex giving him a dark look before turning away and grabbing hold of Cassidy's hand to return to the pond. Fin just shook his head at his leader.

"You sure know how t' bring folk t'gether," Fin said sarcastically.

Danny ignored the barb and asked about the water source. Fin told him about the pond, as well as the Twelfth's ponies, and he was glad that something was going right. They both watched with satisfaction as Brynna and Leon went over to assist Lilia as best they could while the serious, gray-eyed girl worked on reviving the surviving members of Spiderdeath.

Brynna had poured some of the water into one of the cooking pots left out by the Twelfth Group and placed it by Lilia's side. Lilia plunged one of her hands into the water and closed her eyes. Within minutes she began to feel the powerful surge of her waterborne Gift flowing through her and into the first of the poisoned Riders.

Instantly, Lilia's mind showed her a scene of a man walking toward a dark, slow-flowing river. The Black God was waiting for the man, but the deity turned and looked at Lilia and then drifted away. The man seemed confused for a moment before he veered off of his original course and started to walk toward Lilia.

"That's right," she murmured, "You can come back now. Help has arrived. Please, please, _please_ come back now."

The man nodded and his mouth formed the words 'thank you.' Lilia kept her eyes closed so that she wouldn't lose the vision as the man came closer and closer to her. She suddenly felt stronger than she ever had before. She didn't know it, but Brynna and Leon had removed her boots and placed her feet into another pot of water. Her Gift somehow gathered potency the more contact she had with the water. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if she was related to the merfolk.

As soon as the first Rider was breathing on his own, Leon moved Lilia's hands to the next Rider, this time a woman. Once again, she saw the vision of a person moving toward the Peaceful Realms and witnessed the Black God releasing his hold on the woman. Lilia coaxed the female Rider back to the Living Realms and then moved on to the next one and the other three after that. Only when she touched the skin of the Rider who seemed to be dead did she experience disappointment. The man already had stepped over to the other side and would not ever turn back.

When Lilia finally opened her eyes, the others were staring at her in awe. She was amazed at herself --she'd never have guessed that her Gift could be used for such a thing as waking the dead. Of course, the Riders she had healed hadn't really been dead --they'd just been headed that way. And she didn't feel tired, either. It seemed that as long as part of her body was immersed in water, her healing Gift could refresh itself. For the first time in a long time, Lilian Seas smiled from the inside all the way out --and it was a beautiful sight.

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**A/N: Ah, the plot thickens! Please review and let us know what you think. Thanks! **

**~~ Ally-Marty :D**

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**-_-RiderGroup 16-_-**

**22/06/09**


	11. Ch 9 Aftermath

**Hello again loyal readers (and hopefully reviewers) we have updated once again. **

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce is a Goddess; sadly we are mere mortals **

**I hope you enjoy!

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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Aftermath  
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When Lilia finally opened her eyes, the others were staring at her in awe. She was amazed at herself --she'd never have guessed that her Gift could be used for such a thing as waking the dead. Of course, the Riders she had healed hadn't really been dead --they'd just been headed that way. And she didn't feel tired, either. It seemed that as long as part of her body was immersed in water, her healing Gift could refresh itself. For the first time in a long time, Lilian Seas smiled from the inside all the way out --and it was a beautiful sight.

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Unknown to Lilia, activity had been going on around her for the time that she had been healing Spiderdeath. As soon as Fin realised that it was going to take a while for her to wake them all, he had tapped Danny on the shoulder.

"I don' think we should waste our time here. I'll go fetch th' horses and Spiderdeath's equipment; you get the others workin'." This jolted Danny out of his exhausted state and made him take action. By the time Fin returned with the horses, the others were hard at work. Tents were going up all around the clearing and a fire was burning ready for cooking.

Even though they all were working, the members of the Sixteenth kept glancing towards the Gifted members of their group. It was slightly disconcerting working near someone in the state Lilia was in. She seemed to be neither conscious nor unconscious. Not to mention the fact that they knew she was basically reviving the dead. As each member of Spiderdeath returned to the realms of the living Alex and Danny carried them off to a tent where Cassidy and later Fin dressed and bandaged their wounds.

They all saw Lilia stir when the last of the Riders had been revived. Her smile was different from usual but it didn't last long; her eyelids drooped and she really did lose consciousness. The others hesitated for a fraction of a second. After what she had done, how could she do something as human as fainting?

"We'll need someone else on watch. I don't think I'm up for much else." Leon nodded. Healings take a lot out of you at the best of times and with a novice Healer like Leon, Brynna would be exhausted.

"You go; I'll find Lilia someplace to rest." Now it was Brynna's turn to nod. Both of them were too drained to have a long conversation. Leon carried Lilia over to where he could see Danny and Cassidy erecting tents.

Brynna sat herself on a rise and lay her bow within reach. Danny had worried that she would be too tired to be vigilant in watching for another attack but she looked as alert as ever.

Alex and Danny started to make Spiderdeath comfortable. Only six of them had survived out of their original nine. Danny put up the tents and Alex made them comfortable. When Danny had erected enough shelter for Spiderdeath, he saw Alex coming out of one of the tents with red eyes and wet cheeks.

Cassidy and Leo erected Lilia's tent as quickly as they could; the sky looked like a storm was coming. When they were done, Leon retrieved the unconcious Healer. Lilia was limp in Leo's arms as he carried her to her tent. He wrapped her up carefully and made sure her head was propped up. He knew she would be warm enough in the tent but he knew there was something else he could do for her. As he exited the tent, Cassidy handed him a pot full of water.

"She'll recover better with water around her. Just dip her hands in it or something."

"Good thinking." When Cassidy tried to pass the pot to Leo she winced. He noticed and immediately saw that her hand had been badly burnt by the spidrens' venom. "Cassidy, you should have told one of us! That looks nasty."

"You had bigger things on your mind. In case you hadn't noticed all three of our Healers were trying to revive dead people. This I can live with."

"In any case, Danny just gave me a lecture on fully healing _everybody,_ so sit down for a minute." With that Leon went back to Lilia. He carefully extracted a hand from inside her cocoon of blankets and dipped it in the water. She shuddered as it went in but otherwise seemed alright. He carefully left the tent and found Cassidy sitting outside examining her hand. Leon sat down opposite her and took hold of her hand.

He closed his eyes and searched inside himself for the glowing embers of his Gift. He had read in books written by famous sorcerers that their Gift showed itself as a fire within them but his had always been embers; dark green, almost black embers. He picked one up, one grain of his Gift and used it to examine Cassidy's hand. He had almost no practical experience in Healing. The local Hedgewitch who had originally taught him had not trusted him. He hadn't trusted her either; she gave him the creeps. It was the best that his father would do for him though. It had taken his sister Talia to get him to agree to even that. Talia reminded their father of their mother before she got sick so he listened to her.

The only thing that the hedgewitch Mirahda had trusted him with was small things. It got to the point where he'd cut himself with his dagger just for some more experience. Before he came to the Riders, his stock of healing experience came from a series of cuts, sniffles and the bruises that his elder brother gave Talia. Although the Riders had given him more chances to heal and improve, he had never dealt with burns. Studied healing burns yes, actually doing so, no.

He shook these thoughts off and went back to what he knew. Burns caused by spidren venom were not just burnt; they were poisoned as well. If the poison was in Cassidy's bloodstream then he would have to burn it out of her system. That was the first thing he did. He pounded his ember into a fine dust and spread it through her body. Whenever it came into contact with the poison, his 'ember dust' burnt it out. Next he went to work on the outward burn. He poured his Gift into her hand and felt it begin to mend. Once the skin was healed, he worked to get rid of infection and then withdrew.

Cassidy looked into his eyes and said, "Thanks, Leon. Are you alright?"

"That was my first major healing, so what do you think?" He shook his head and it hurt. "I feel like death walking. At least I didn't kill you. I accidentally killed a squirrel with a broken leg when I was six."

"Good to know." Cass said. Leo made to stand up but found that he couldn't support his own weight. "'Leo you don't look too good. Are you sure you're okay?" She tried to help him up but discovered that she, too, was a little wobbly.

"Cass," Leo lurched to his feet and steadied her. Or steadied himself on her, depending on which way you looked at it. "You know you can't do too much after a Healing. Even a minor one like that."

"I thought you said it was your first _major _Healing."

"Hard for me; should be easy for you. Cass, go lie down." She consented.

Leon didn't last very long either. He started trying to cook porridge- the only thing he could find that was hot and easy –but Danny found him sitting staring at it and sent him to his own tent.

Fin hadn't had time to do much for the horses, but now that Spiderdeath and the Sixteenth's healers were sleeping Danny had released him to do the same. He was tired but not so tired that he could bear to leave the horses without an explanation. All the horses were wary. He knew it would be a long time before Spiderdeath's horses forgot the scent of spidren. He went around all of them checking for burns or any sign of ill-health. Two horses that seemed to be sticking close together showed signs of neglect. They were thinner than the others, not brushed and their hooves were ragged. Seeing this he picked one of them up carefully he saw a stone that looked like it had been wedged there for a while. Using a stick he plied it out and saw bruising inside the hoof. How could someone not see the problem here and pull the rock out?

Scowling Fin went to work. He brought the horses water and extra food and started brushing them. He carefully cleaned out all of their feet and only then did he go to sleep lying under a tree away from the clearing.

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The next morning dawned miserable, cold and even worse - it was wet. Four members of the Sixteenth were gathered around the fire trying to suppress the cold. Leo, Brynna, Fin, Alex and Cassidy had been woken up early by the cries of one of Spiderdeath's survivors. Brynna had insisted that she could tend him herself and insisted that the others should eat.

"Lilia mus' be havin' a field day." Alex and Cassidy groaned and looked at Leo. To their surprise he was not glaring daggers at Fin for yet another water joke. He was laughing. It was a bit of a cackle and Alex and Cass exchanged glances thinking he'd lost it, but Fin just grinned.

Leon was taking great gasping breaths. "It's raining and she needs water to recover!" He looked at Cassidy and Alex inviting them to see what he meant and started laughing again.

"He's cracked." Cass said. But she was smiling and shaking her head.

"No, he's jus' beginnin' to understand me humour!" Fin grinned.

"My point exactly." And now she was laughing too. Alex joined in at this and Fin just glared at them.

"Are you all okay?" Brynna was emerging from a tent, supporting a boy that looked sixteen at the oldest. He had one arm and the stump was visibly blistered and red. They weren't laughing now. Fin jumped up to help her support him. She was drained so she let him. When the three of them sat down, Fin fetched the boy some porridge and Leo and Cassidy recognized the boy.

"Max." His head went up.

"Hey Cassidy." His voice was hoarse and weak. He looked towards Leon. "He's dead, Leo. Marlan's dead."

Cassidy dropped her bowl. What were the chances that one of the three casualties in Spiderdeath was someone in her training group? No one spoke. The horror on Leo, Cassidy and the boy Max's face was immense. The moment was broken as a high scream broke through the air.

Fin jumped up. "You two stay 'ere. We'll get this one. Alex, come on. I need you for carryin' - and Brynna, too, in case we need a healer."

"Marlan Chase?" Leon had to check, but the empty stare he got as a reply said it all. Cass gave him a look. They both knew Max quite well. If he couldn't talk to someone, he would work himself up into a state until he was useless for anything. Resigned he asked the question. "How?"

Max closed his eyes and breathed. He started to speak, but it was disjointed and hard to hear. He told it with no emotion. Or maybe that _was_ the emotion. Cassidy and Leon listened without making a sound.

"We were on our way to the Hills - Marlan was born there and he hadn't been back in four years. We were camped and he was on watch. He wasn't able to concentrate all day from the excitement." Feeling guilty, Leon committed that to memory. " Blasted things started by cutting off a leg. He screamed and woke us all up but that was all he could do. They were huge and we couldn't have beaten them, even if we'd had the warning. Steffi was killed in the fight, died quickly lucky sod." Cassidy flinched that he would say that about a dead friend. At the same time she could see what he meant. "They wrapped us all up and started eating the bits that had been cut off... and Steffi. The whole time Marlan kept apologizing. He thought it was his fault. When they came back for more, they picked Marlan. We could hear him screaming; they tore him apart and shared him around. I don't know how long it took but we all lost consciousness after that. Did we lose anyone else?" Leon shook his head, but then remembered the one that Lilia hadn't been able to wake. There would be time to tell Max later.

Cassidy stood up and started making Max something to eat. As soon as he had eaten, they supported him back to his tent.

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Danny was waiting for them when they left the tent.

"Is he okay?" When they nodded, he continued. "Two of the others still haven't woken up; neither has Lilia. Come on, we need to regroup."

They joined the others who were waiting for them at their watch post.

"Listen, we need to get organized. We have to send a report to Corus and that means getting to a fief that can look after us and send that message. Fief Bunnett is a day's ride from here. It's on the edge of the Bunnett Lake."

"Good for Lilia." Leon put in, grinning. Fin chuckled but Cassidy glared at him.

"Yes. Well. We'll be traveling slowly so I'm sending someone ahead to get support." Here Danny looked straight at Alex. "When you get there, just get them to send my message through to Corus. I want it done as soon as you get there understand? That's it though."

"An' prepare 'em fer our little visit o' course." Fin interjected.

"Of course." Danny added.

Alex eagerly agreed. "Okay. I'll go."

Danny nodded briskly and they continued to make arrangements. Alex would leave at dawn the next morning and the others would follow with the wounded later. They had a lot to do, so when the proceedings got too tedious, Fin and Leon left to check on the horses and the wounded. One of the young women was delirious and another member of Spiderdeath Danny had said had not yet woken up was there, too .

Leon then went to check on Lilia. She was still sound asleep, but looking much less pale. Unfortunately he stepped on a stick as he was leaving and she stirred.

"Hey." Her voice was almost inaudible. "How many did they lose?"

"Three all told, but two were gone long before we arrived." She nodded feebly. Struggling for something to break the silence Leo asked, "Do you want some food?" But she was already asleep again.

"Leon?" Cassidy came into the tent cautiously and was silently towed outside again by Leon. "Oh good, Fin said you would be here. Danny wants to know what Max said. He's got an idea from the others, but I think Max is the most reliable out of them all and that says something. Anyway, Danny needs to write that report before Alex leaves tomorrow."

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**We hope you liked it. To tell us whether you did or not in a review !**

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**Tamora Pierce Junior**

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**-_-RiderGroup16-_-**

**6/07/09  
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	12. Ch 10 A New Mission

**Hello faithful readers! I am quite sorry about the wait, it seems like life takes up far too much of our time...at least thats how it seems to be for me.**

**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. Quite obviously considering Tamora Pierce is one person, not a group of people. Unless she is a group of people and we just dont know it...that would be odd.  
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**Enjoy!!

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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**A New Mission

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The next day passed somewhat quietly for the two rider groups. Spiderdeath spent most of the daylight hours regrouping with the Sixteenth's help. They did not know if more Spidrens would show up, so they planned on only spending one night in the same area.

Alex left with a written report for fief Bunnett in the early hours of the morning. Although accounts such as those were often cumbersome for the Riders since they would have to lose one of their team to send it, it was required when there were losses of more than two.

The sun was just beginning to set over the ridges, and a small fire sprung up in the center of camp. There Cassidy and some other Riders were taking full advantage of their downtime. She and her former training partner, Max, were deep in discussion.

"I am quite sad right now, Max. You swore that after getting assigned a Group you'd have battle scars on the first day from your heroic acts. I don't see any." Cassidy stuck her bottom lip out with a twinkle in her eyes.

Her friend stuck his tongue out. "That's just 'cause they're hidden. Of course if you _really_ want to see them…" He moved to lift up his shirt before Cass grabbed his arm.

"No thank you, Maxwell. I would really rather not see your 'scars'."

"Now that's not fair," He whined. "You saw Leo's scar! And that was on the first day!"

"That is a completely different story. Leon's pony ripped his tunic off of him. And that was a birthmark, not a scar."

"In the shape of a butterfly!"

Next thing he knew, Max was being hit on the back of his head.

"That's not true, you lousy liar!" Leo exclaimed as he took a seat next to Cassidy.

Max pouted. "Well from my angle, it looked like a butterfly."

"You aren't one to joke about butterflies, Max. If I remember correctly, that was your nickname for quite a few months." Cassidy's lips rose in a smirk.

Leon sat up straighter with laughter written across his face. "Aha! that's right! I remember that morning when you were up in the tree trying to map the courtyard, Sarge came right up under you. You fell right off the branch!"

"Ha! You really did look like a butterfly, arms flapping like those delicate little wings."

Max growled. "Delicate! I am not delicate!"

Leon let out a snort. "Sure seemed delicate then."

Some other Riders had come to sit around the fire, listening to their stories and laughing along. Others began to add their own tales from their training.

From the far edge of the circle, Danny sat silently, listening in on the exchanging of stories.

"Hey, Todd, remember Liza!" One of the Spiderdeath Riders exclaimed from near the fire.

"You bet I do! She was a hoot, that girl."

The one close to the fire let out a chuckle. "I remember one time she was sprintin' down a hill, tryin' to get to lunch before the bell. It had just rained and she was wearing those Godsforsaken boots of hers, the ones so old they had no traction left. She kept sayin' they was her lucky shoes. Those were certainly her downfall that day, pun intended. She slid down that hill faster than water down a mountain. Even then she didn't get rid of those things, even when she got put into the Sixteenth. I told her, those are gonna get yourself killed som—

"Enough!" Danny stood up and growled at the man. "There are still chores to be done."

Without another word he stalked away from the now silent group. After a moment they began to move again, getting up to ready their packs for an early morning the next day, all but one.

Cassidy quickly stood and went after Danny, refusing to listen to her friend's attempts at getting her attention. He had stooped over to pick up a stray strap of leather, but she stomped down on it before he could reach it.

The older man straightened and nearly had to take a step back when he looked into her smoldering glare.

"If you can't remember them with a laugh, then why think of them at all? Why did you even get to know them in the first place if you won't respect their memory? He was just telling a funny story about a comrade, it just happened that that comrade was once in the old Sixteenth.

"Yes, they're dead. But we are still alive, the Sixteenth. Spiderdeath is still alive. They lost three of their number only a day ago, already they are moving on. But look at you. A year has passed, and yet you can't let go. You expect everyone to mourn with you, to think about their horrible deaths. That'll only get us killed. _Think_ for a minute, Danny. Do you want to lose another group because we didn't have a leader to look up to? This is only our first year, none of us are ready to take complete command."

Danny's eyes flashed at the young Rider and his voice dropped low. "You have no idea what it is like to lose your own in a bandit attack. It is impossible to just forget."

"We're not asking you to forget!" Cassidy snapped. Her lip quivered for a moment, but she was quick to bite it and carry on.

"And for your information, I _do_ know what it is like. My family was ambushed when I was little. My brother was killed right before my eyes. I watched as his life spilled out of him at my feet. _That_ is why I am a Rider! I turned my grief into my determination. What will you let yours become?"

Her braid whipped around her head as she stomped off towards the ponies. Danny could only stand shell shocked as she left.

Danny felt a hand on his shoulder and spun to meet Leon's eyes.

"She is right, you know. We are the Sixteenth now, Danny. We can be there for you, but only if you let us. You've told us your story, but sometimes that's not enough. At least, it doesn't seem so for you."

For the second time that night Danny did not know what to say in return, though he did not have to as Leo went to check on Cassidy and his own ponies.

Dark had completely fallen as Danny sat with the Spiderdeath leader, Nik, in front of a larger fire.

Nik threw a handful of purple powder into the flames. As soon as they touched, the flames grew and changed in color to a soft orange with purple tints. In the middle of the flames a face appeared.

"Commander Buri," Danny greeted. "We sent our reports to Corus this morning, they should arrive soon."

Her face nodded in the fire. "Nik, I would like you and the rest of Spiderdeath to return to the Palace for a week before returning to fieldwork. I think you will all need a rest. You will get further orders when you arrive in Corus, but I would like you to warn your Group now that there is a high chance of being sent into that area once more. Those Spidrens could become more of a problem if the issue rests for too long."

The Spiderdeath captain nodded and gave his thanks and moved away from the fire to tell his Riders.

"Danny," Buri addressed him. "I want the Sixteenth to investigate what happened to Spiderdeath and, if possible, what is going on with the Spidrens. From what Nik reported earlier, they exhibited extremely abnormal behavior than what we have seen from those Immortals so far. I also want reports every two days on what your progress is, preferably not written. You will need all of your members for this mission, I believe. I'll try to get Daine out there with you. Keep me updated."

With that the fire spluttered and died, the red embers casting an eerie glow in the darkness.

Danny sat thinking about what he was going to tell his group the next day. It would require everyone's full cooperation and attentiveness to find the reason behind the Spidren's strange actions. Would they be up to this challenge? Would he be up to it? Only time would tell.

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**Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Keep reviewing, it makes us all very very very happy!**

**+dares to dream+  
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**-_-RiderGroup16-_-**

**20/7/09  
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	13. Ch 11 Lost In the Mud

**So. It has been awhile since last time. Unfortunately, as it so happens in Round-Robins every once in a while, someone accidentally missed their turn. Now, however, we are ready to roll again.**

**Thank you to all the faithful readers who've kept up with this story, your wonderful comments are both inspiring and teaching and we always look forward to your reviews. **

_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Lost in the Mud.  


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_Danny sat thinking about what he was going to tell his group the next day. It would require everyone's full cooperation and attentiveness to find the reason behind the Spidren's strange actions. Would they be up to this challenge? Would he be up to it? Only time would tell._

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**Cassidy Reed**

I shook my head as I made my way through the countless reeds and thickets. Thankfully the mud was not so much that it had sunk into my boots yet. I did my best to avoid wading through the actually pools.

Marshlands, I had seen many in my life. I loved mud, always had, and the dirty clothes and the rain I was also used to, my family and I had traveled all over Tortall. We'd never owned a house, we were player folk. My father played the lyre, he was one of the best in the land, he played at many fiefs. We, my brothers and I, helped mother make sachets if potpourri, to sell on the road.

We worked a lot to make the potpourri.

The sachets were all made with ingredients we picked on our travels. The ingredients were many, though most were fairly easily found: Lavender leaves, orange shavings, lemon peels, rose flowers, hips, stems. Others, like Mugwort, Pinyon pine shavings and cones and Cypress wood shavings were not so easily found. We spent our summers on the road, constantly on the road. In the winter we settled wherever we were: big city, small town, shabby inn, well-kept inn. It mattered naught.

I winced as I made a loud squelching noise with my boot in the mud. Great scout/sentry I was if I floundered about making noise.

As I said, I didn't mind mud, but if it got in my boots, there would be hell to pay. I stepped around a branch, not wanting to accidentally snap it and make more noise. The group was camped a little back, not too far from where they'd found the Spidrens, but as far as they could go with all the injured Riders the Sixteenth had to carry with them. Despite what Lilian had done, bringing them back from the dead, they were very much out of it. Lilian, too, was much worse for the wear.

Alex was back to her usual chatty self, Leon back to his brooding self. I had done training with Leon; I'd heard snippets of his family life and was not surprised that he was always moody. His family was a mess, and it had rendered him one, too. Danny didn't speak much, and especially not for anything other than orders. _Be quiet, do you want to get caught? Mount up, we can't wait all day. Cassidy, make yourself useful, go scout._ I felt bad for what he'd been through, but he wasn't the only person to have lost somebody. I could see Lyndon's face in my mind as if I'd seen him yesterday. I hadn't. I hadn't seen him in a long time.

My family also had been attacked by bandits. Being on the road all the time meant we all were competent with weapons, even mother who was much less fragile than she looked. When I was thirteen one of those bandit groups attacked; we could fend them off but a lucky underhand swipe from one of them caught Lyndon, aged seventeen, and wounded him gravely. He didn't survive. So the wondrous five had shrunk to four and their endless joy had been somewhat dimmed.

Something rustled behind me and I turned, pivoting on my left foot, crouching. It was a squirrel. I welcomed the interruption of my stream of thought, because I never liked remembering that summer day. The sun had been bright and the leaves a rich green. The sky had been that beautiful baby blue and the few clouds were whiter than snow. It was one of those days where nothing bad should ever happen. Unfortunately, tragedy cares little for the weather.

I had vowed, back as a little thirteen-year-old, that I would avenge my brother, and find those bastards who'd done him in. It was that vow that gotten me here, ankle-deep in mud, a Rider, a fighter, somebody with power. I was not that little child any more. Now I was sixteen, a trained warrior, and I would bring justice to the world. To some of it at least.

Yeah, Danny Baker wasn't the only one who'd lost someone to bandits. And then there was Fin. Fin Gran. Fin Gran the blond with the freckles, the bright blue eyes of an angel, and a terrible sense of humour. Fin Gran the womanizing slob who kept making suggestive looks, wiggling his eyebrows. The annoying boy who kept smirking his stupid smirk. He was infuriating and trying with the wrong girl. I'm sure any flower seller in any town would love to bed him or lay with him, but I wasn't one of those girls. I wasn't part of his giggling entourage, and I had no care to be. As I'd told him many times. He'd always grinned and gone away. I shook my head; he was impossible, and it was impossible to be angry with him.

I heard hoof falls. A horse? Here? That meant somebody was close, too close for comfort to the camp. I crouched and hid behind a tree. I was at a part of the swamp where the trees were tall, vines hanging off of them, and there was a sort of mud river before me. I was deep into this marshland. I caught a glimpse of white on the little shore ahead, the horse was eating something, its face hidden from mine by a group of tall reeds. The horse had no rider, it had wings. It was a winged horse, the ones I'd always loved, the kind we'd met often in our travels. It was _beautiful_. I went forwards and put my foot into the little river. It didn't look too deep so I put my other foot in it and started my way over. The mud went into my boots and I shuddered, the feeling of it soaking my tights, freezing my foot. I kept going deeper, farther, the mud came to my shins, to my knees, to my thighs but by then the worst was over. I waded out, dripping, and walked slowly over to the immortal.

I got close to it and then it lifted its head, its mouth was stained red, berries most probably. But berries didn't grow in this type of habitat. I approached closer and still it, probably a 'he' by the size, looked at me, unwavering. I stopped. There was a carcass of an animal and it looked like a raccoon. The red on its mouth was blood.

I backed away slowly, confused. The winged horses were good, it was their evil counterparts, the killer unicorns and the hurroks, that were carnivores. The horse bared his teeth, they were pointed, their tips needle sharp and not the kind that plant-eaters had. I backed away even more slowly, hands up as if to show I meant no harm.

The horse advanced and still I backed up slowly, it was always better to be slow than fast when dealing with a predator who was faster than you. They would see a run as a game, as a hunt, as the prey fleeing, and then they would chase you. Game over. It moved faster and I sped up my retreat a tad. It was also a bad idea if they caught you before you ran. I did not come this far, come this close to avenge my brother, only to be killed by a crazy killer winged horse. No, not in this lifetime.

I put my hand down and grabbed the hilt of my blade and brought it up. The horse stopped and looked at the blade. That was when I noticed it's eyes had changed colour, they were red. The same red as its mouth, blood red. It reared and leaped forwards and I decided to run. The hunt was on.

I threw myself into the muddy river, I knew it would slow him down and started to swim, though it felt like the world had stopped moving, the mud making my movements so slow it seemed as though time itself had slowed instead. I heard him behind me, splashing, and I struggled to push my arms farther, to kick harder. When I got to the shore I barely had time to collect a proper breath that I shot off at a dead run. Too soon I heard the hooves thundering behind me, a menacing thumping that approached faster than lightening. A tornado of hunger and evil that wanted me and would have me soon. I ducked under a low-hanging branch and kept running.

There were many things I wish I hadn't done. I wished I hadn't gone so far ahead to scout. I wished I hadn't waded through the river. I wished I hadn't approached the horse, and last, but not least, I wished I'd paid attention to where I was headed. If I had, I would've noticed I was going the wrong way.

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**Little Red Riding Hood is lost in the forest. Too bad it's not the Big Bad Wolf behind her, she could take on a wolf any day.  
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**.._..MusicIsWorthLivingFor.._..  
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**-_-RiderGroup16-_-**

**17/8/09  
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	14. Ch 12 Strangers in the Night

**The last 3 have skipped. We apologize sincerely, here is your next update.  
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_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Strangers In The Night  


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_There were many things I wish I hadn't done. I wished I hadn't gone so far ahead to scout. I wished I hadn't waded through the river. I wished I hadn't approached the horse, and last, but not least, I wished I'd paid attention to where I was headed. If I had, I would've noticed I was going the wrong way._

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**That night**

Lilian Seas felt as though she had been trampled by a horse. And then that horse had come back and trampled her again. And again. If the big grey bags under her eyes didn't speak plainly enough, her slowly drooping head should have been the next indication of how exhausted she was. A hundred nails had been dug into her body and yanked out, a thousand fishing hooks torn through her head, making mush of her brain.

Thus, however, was the price of magic. Especially if one was foolish enough to bring back spirits of the dead. Technically the hadn't been dead, not quite, but enough far gone that they stood on the very threshold of the realm of the dead. She had saved many, and for that she knew she should feel endless amounts of joy and satisfaction, but she hadn't saved them all. That thought weighed down in the pit of her stomach much more than Danny's oatmeal.

She felt her lids lower and welcomed sleep with open arms, glad to have some rest, and, hopefully, some peace of mind.

Danny watched the mage fall asleep slightly unnerved by her presence. The quiet shadow of a girl who'd saved countless lives., done magic that was beyond his level of understanding. Danny didn't like things he couldn't understand. He was a born leader and had a natural tendency to control things around him, everything had to be in its place, and it had always irked him when it wasn't. He didn't like surprises, and hated things he couldn't change. Magic was... unpredictable. He didn't understand it, and therefore feared it.

That it was Lilian Seas made it all that much more unnerving. She never spoke but when she opened her mouth she gave orders. She looked like she was fragile, weak, like she would frighten easily, and yet her bow had pierced a spidren squarely and her hands hands had been steady. And then there was the magic. The magic she didn't know she had, didn't know she could wield. Magic that had done incredible things without her controlling them. He knew he would never look at her the same way again.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by someone sitting down on the ground beside him. Fin's face was darkened by more than the blackness of the night and the glow from the dying embers only heightened the look of worry.

"Something wrong with Spiderdeath, Fin?" Danny knew better than anyone that if Fin was silent, something was wrong. You knew he was alright if you couldn't get him to shut up.

"No, they're still sleeping. It's Cassidy."

"Please don't tell me you're in love with her, because she will never lie with you and I'll be stuck listening to you moan." Danny had said it partially to amuse Fin and partially because it was true. Fin was a ladies' man but he always chased the wrong girls; the smart ones. There it was, a shadow of Fin's usual grin.

"No worries, she's practically in love with me already." Danny snorted softly, he sincerely doubted that. Fin's grin died again.

"She hasn't come back from scouting yet." Danny stilled.

"How long has she been out?"

"A few hours, she should be back by now. Leon is." Danny rattled off some curses under his breath he knew would have made his mother slap him so hard the wall would hit back and stood.

"Leon!" He called, scaring off a roosting bird. He noticed that Lilian didn't stir.

Leon came, long, lanky legs making his gait awkward as one of a male in his transitioning years.

"What?"

"Cassidy's not back yet." Leon muttered a few curses himself, power-words that most Riders saved only for the mud-trekking and which made Danny's eyebrows climb his face.

"I take it you don't know where she is?" Danny's voice was cooler than he felt, truthfully, he would rather none of his team be stuck in the swamp-forest for a night.

"We have to go find her." Leon said forcibly.

"We aren't going anywhere." Danny replied, putting a hand on Leon's shoulder.

"Have you lost your mind? We cannot leave her in there by herself!" Fin yelled angrily.

"I don't like it anymore than you do Fin but we cannot go charging in there in the dark. There're only three of us since Lilian is useless from exhaustion and Alex isn't here. There is an entire group of unconscious riders we cannot leave here unguarded. Going into those woods alone is suicide."

"Cass is in there alone." Leon protested, though his voice was one of defeat, he knew Danny was right.

"Cassidy's got a good head on her shoulders." Danny answered not unkindly, patting Leon's shoulder where his hand still was.

"And a good-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Fin Gran." Danny warned darkly, whereas Fin grinned broadly. The troubled look never left his face but he seemed a little cheered; Cassidy could take care of herself.

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Lilian slept but found little rest. Reliving the past seldom was peaceful.

_There was nothing Lilian loved more than the sea. A young girl hung onto the railing of a the ship. The fierce winds blew back her tightly curled brown hair and made her clothes whip about her. The sea was alive, each wave bigger than the next, crashing into the ship. Loud sounds like thunder echoing from the impact. Lilian laughed, there was nothing she loved more than the wind._

_"Lilia!" Her sister Kelsey yelled, coming towards her with a big smile._

_"Would you get down from there!" She laughed, stretching her hands out towards her little sister._

_David and Trenton too were with her, big grins on their faces._

_"No. No!" Lilian yelled laughing as her brothers grabbed her and threw her overboard, they jumped in after her. Her entire family loved the sea. Lilia was the youngest, David the eldest. She had more siblings but they had cooking duty that afternoon. Lilian resurfaced giggling as Trenton started to shove David under. The sun shone down on them as they swam around the boat, all worries set aside for an afternoon of fun. Working on a boat wasn't easy, it required a lot of maintenance and cleaning, especially theirs, a trading ship. They relished the free time when they had it._

_--_

_The same girl looked out at the ocean, holding the same railing, though some rust was now etched on it. Her hair was tied back in a ribbon, clothes tightened so they would not billow behind her. This girl was older and more mature. Her lips were set in a frown rather than a smile and her eyes were dull rather than full of light. Her older brother, Trenton, hit her shoulder with his deliberately._

_"Lighten up Lily, he's not a bad man." He was the only person who could call her Lily._

_"She isn't happy. She's a doll that was presented and passed around until somebody chose to marry her. He is too old for her."_

_"Kelsey did what she had to do. You know money's not going well. He's alright too, papa would never marry her to somebody who would treat her bad. Besides, you know Kelsey, she will run him ragged 'afore he learns not to order her around." Lilian smiled briefly, her sister would always be her sister._

_"She won't live here anymore." She knew she was pouting, she knew her brother wouldn't care. She never had to hide near him. He sighed and turned his body towards her._

_"They'll all leave eventually, and so will you one day. It's the way of life. How do you think I'll feel when you leave? I'll be all alone on this great big ship." He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in mock-despair._

_"What with all those women flocking about you?" She teased, slightly heartened by her brother's antics._

_"They're all the same Lily-flower. They all want the same things." He laughed slightly at the look on her face._

_"Lily-bear, they all want a man with money and looks, and I have few of both." Which wasn't completely true, Lilian thought, he was good looking, though nobody in the family could claim they were rich or well-put._

_"I'll find her one day, the woman of my dreams. Just you wait. You'll find someone someday too, and I hope you'll be happy."_

_"I'll be married off just like Kelsey and Madeline were. Sophie's next and she knows it, and then it will be my turn."_

_"Sophie wants to marry somebody rich and live in comfort. You don't."_

_"What difference does that make?" Lilian asked, wrinkling her nose._

_"Lily-bear, it makes all the difference in the world."_

_--_

_It was a sunny afternoon in Tyra, the coastal city and capital of the realm of Tyra. It was the midsummer fair and the amount of people milling about was absolutely astounding to somebody who spent most of their life on a boat. Lilian Seas walked around with wide eyes, trying to take it all in and knowing she couldn't. _

_There were stands for just about anything you might possibly need and want, or even think of. The trees were a rich green and the clothes of the people walking by were bright yellows, oranges, reds. Rich colours. There were contests of every sort, the one that caught her eye was the archery one. There were seven contestants lined up shooting at seven targets. They had short bows because their space was too limited for long ones. They shot arrow after arrow with a deadly accuracy that made Lilian green with envy. She had shot a few times, when they visited land-locked family, which wasn't very often. She loved to shoot._

_The winner was a woman, one of the only two in the competition, her arrows were all clustered neatly at the centre of her target. A feat so impressive it made her jaw drop._

_"She's a rider, no fair." A man was telling another as he asked to collect bet money. The two wandered off talking about what they'd lost and won, moving onto the next competition. Lilian didn't move, she just turned to the tall blond man beside her who leaned along the wooden fence._

_"What's a rider?" He turned to look at her blinked._

_"Where've you been living, under a rock?" A hand came out of nowhere and smacked him on the back of the head. He yelped and turned to glare at a short female who stood with him._

_"Ignore him love, he's just a sour grape 'cause he lost at the hand-to-hand competition." He continued to glare at her and rub his head exaggeratedly. It couldn't have hurt that much, she thought._

_"Riders. Queen's Riders. They're an informal cavalry unit that used to be governed by the queen herself. They're trained in armed combat and everything else, from medicine to tactics. They handle the rough terrain whereas the Own do the pomp and theatrics." Her description rang a bell in Lilian's mind. She had heard of them, but never encountered them._

_"How old are you?" The man asked._

_"Fourteen." She answered._

_"Once you're sixteen you can join, if you're interested. It's not easy mind you-"_

_"-the food is terrible." The man cut in and Lilian grinned._

_"Don't make me hit you again Evin. -But..." She paused to see if he'd interrupt again. He didn't. "...but you have to know how to read and write, and you gotta be willing to work hard for it. It's not for the weak of spirit or heart." Lilian nodded._

"_There's a place where you can get information if you like, it's down the way, past the knife-throwers."_

"_Thanks," She answered, ducking her head. She didn't like speaking to strangers, she was no good at it._

_She wandered off, knowing it wasn't for her, she'd never be a warrior, she wasn't strong enough and she wasn't smart enough and she needed money for weapons which she didn't have. She walked around, bright mood slightly dampened and found that her feet had involuntarily led her to the Riders' stall. She listened to them talk to her about joining. They were giving a presentation to a bunch of kids. Some she saw were her age, some a few years older, some were just children._

"_Riders?" Whispered a voice behind her making her jump. She hadn't heard him come up._

"_Hey Trenton. Lovely fair."_

"_Why're you here?"_

"_Somebody suggested I come." He was quiet for a while, listening to them speak._

"_Do you want to be a Rider?" He asked suddenly. She looked at him startled._

"_Oh, no, it's not for me."_

_--_

_It had been a year since the midsummer fair and they were back again. They had organised it so it was part of their trade route, they had made good money the year before. The competitions were there again, though there was no sign of the two Riders she had talked to. She had made sure she'd gone to the archery competition first. She left her siblings only to find herself at the stall again. She didn't know why she was here. She stayed the entire time of the presentation, finding herself imagining herself on a great horse, riding off to battle. Just the thought made her laugh. She didn't like horses, they scared her. She'd never really been on a horse before, they were such temperamental brutes. But they sure were beautiful in action._

"_Trenton told me you'd be here." Her father said, he'd been standing beside her. She thought briefly at her encounter with Trenton the year before. Like father like son. _

_Matthias Seas was an average man, tall but not so tall, skinny and and slightly balding. He wore a smile on his face often but could stir up a tempest when he was angry. He was fair when he needed to be, but had enough sense not to make bad investments. He had a rough face, lips a little small, eyes a little beady, nose a little long. He limped a bit with his left leg from a boating accident that had happened before Lilian's birth._

_Not knowing what to say, Lilian opted for silence, she wasn't much for useless chatter._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Yes you do." Yes, she did. She didn't answer, she knew he was right._

"_Do you want to be a Rider?"_

"_I want to do my duty by you and ma on the boat."_

"_Yes, but you want adventure, you want to do something different. You don't want to marry." She looked at him startled. He gave a hearty laugh._

"_Do you think I don't know my children, Lilia? You're just like your mother." He smiled at her, gaze locked on things in the past._

"_She didn't want to settle down and have children back in the little town she grew up. She married a man from a different village and ran off with him. Spent all her savings on a boat to sail the seas. She created quite a scandal." He laughed again, smiling at his youngest daughter._

"_But she settled down and had children anyway." Lilian said, trying to ignore the surprise insight into her mama's life._

"_Yes but she did it on her terms, with a man she loved. She had children when she was ready to, she never once regrets it."_

"_Are you telling me I should become a Rider?" She asked her father in confusion. He smiled down at her, eyes serious._

"_I'm telling you that you should do what your heart tells you and that your mother and I will love you for it no matter what."_

_--_

_That March watched the ship leave the harbour, tears staining her red cheeks. She waved at her brothers and sisters, feeling a terrible feeling deep inside. How could she live without them? How could she survive without them beside her? She was all alone in a world she didn't know. Stuck on land. She'd never stayed on land more than a few days._

_She'd start her training at the Rider's barracks the following day and she knew there was no way she'd ever be ready._

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Lilian woke with sweat on her brow and tears on her cheeks. How could one not feel when they were crying? The sound of hoofbeats made her freeze. It was cold and dark and the sound of the hoofbeats clearly told her it was not just a single horse but at least a handful.

She saw a dark shape, undoubtedly Danny, rise staggeringly to his feet, shake his head to clear it and draw a weapon. She didn't have any weapons on her except a small knife she kept in her boots somebody had taken off for her. She groped soundlessly in the dark until she found it. She drew it. It wouldn't do much but if she got a clear shot at close range she could probably un-mount a horseman. However, the first to break through the trees at a trot was none other than Alexea of Kennan looking tired but triumphant. Riders came out behind her.

"Whass goin' on?" Fin's voice was slurred from sleep though he too had been in an unwavering fighting stance.

"I've brought some backup." Alex grinned.

"Good, we'll need it. Cassidy's gone." Alexea's grin slid off her face.

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**Drum roll please, back up has arrived.  
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**xxTunstall Chickxx  
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**-_-RiderGroup16-_-**

**30/09/09**

**P.S. Once again, sorry for the long wait.  
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	15. Ch 13 Search Parties

**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**

**Chapter 13: Search Parties**

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Disclaimer: All of Tortall belongs to Tamora Pierce. We just like to play around in her world.

**A/N: Thanks again for reading our story! Now, for a bit of an explanation: Our story takes place around the year 465 H.E., the war with Scanra is over and Evin Larse is now the Commander of the Queen's Riders. He oversees all of their field operations and assignments. According to an interview with Tamora Pierce, Sergeant ****Musenda Ogunsanwo, or 'Sarge' as everyone calls him, is also a commander of the Riders, so we've assumed that he is in charge of the selection and training of new Riders. ****Buri (now married to Raoul for five years) is mostly retired from the Queen's Riders, but ****TP says that the feisty K'miri warrior still helps out whenever she has time ****and that she sometimes rides with a group when she's bored with the King's Own. We hope this clears up any confusion there might have been for anyone.****There is a tiny bit of fluff in this chapter. ;D Although this hasn't been - nor will it become - a fluffy story, Ally-Marty just couldn't help herself and needed to inject a little taste of romance for her primary character of Brynna. We hope you'll continue to enjoy our story as we spin it along. :D**

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**_However, the first to break through the trees at a trot was none other than Alexea of Kennan looking tired but triumphant. Riders came out behind her._

"_Whass goin' on?" Fin's voice was slurred from sleep though he too had been in an unwavering fighting stance._

_"I've brought some backup." Alex grinned._

_"Good, we'll need it. Cassidy's gone." Alexea's grin slid off her face._

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Brynna of Masbolle

I woke up from a troubled sleep when I heard the commotion outside of the tent. My left shoulder and right wrist still hurt a little, but I sensed that most of my healing gift had returned to me even though I'd not slept very well. Anger is what I felt the most as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes - white hot anger at Danny for forbidding any of us to search for Cassidy the previous evening. I still couldn't believe it. The ache in my heart for Cass was far worse than the lingering pain from my mostly-healed injuries. I felt like a failure. If we hadn't been in such bad shape, perhaps Danny would have allowed at least two of us to go out onto the marsh with a torch and look for our missing comrade.

I pulled on my mud-caked boots, shrugged into my leather jerkin and exited the tent. My hair was a tangle of wispy brown hair that had escaped my long braid, but I didn't care. Begging for the Goddess' mercy, I hoped that Alex had returned with help from Fief Bunnett. Relief washed over me when I saw that it was Alex alright - and she had brought back quite a crowd with her. I immediately recognized Miri Fisher, one of the more senior Riders, which meant that the Seventh Rider Group, Nightbreath, had come to our aid. All was not well, though, and I listened from a distance as Miri and Danny exchanged words.

"So, Baker," Miri said rather stiffly, "What's the _real_ situation, here? Rider Alex told us about some strange goings on in these parts and it all sounds as though you, your people and Spiderdeath have had a rough adventure. The wildmage, Daine, should be at Fief Bunnett by the time we return with the injured Riders. She wants to interview Spiderdeath before she continues the investigation into the strange behavior of the spidrens, as well as other creatures, in the immediate vicinity. Tell me the truth - is it really as bad as Alex reported?""

"It's hard to explain, Miri," Danny said as he thrust his fingers through his thick hair. "I trust that Alex gave you just as complete a report as I would have done. We've never seen anything like what happened to Spiderdeath. There's not much more to say."

"Humor me, Danny," Miri said. "I want to hear about all this craziness from _your_ point of view." It was obvious that she wasn't very fond of our leader.

I didn't find out until much later that, although Miri didn't know Danny very well, she had been good friends with the senior members of his former group. Miri had even argued with Commander Evin Larse, her long-time friend and occasional bedroll-mate, when he decided to place Danny in command of the Sixteenth and then gave him so many green riders to train. She felt it was wrong to put such a green commander in charge of so many green Riders.

Danny apparently knew that Miri didn't think highly of him, so he didn't tell Miri about the way the earlier bandit attack had weakened his people. Instead, he focused on everything that had happened since they'd discovered the Twelfth Rider Group wrapped up in the spidrens' cocoons. As he explained the previous days' events, Danny's tone of voice indicated that he hated the fact that his own group seemed so disorganized and looked so bedraggled. Honestly, though, I think he was too tired to be embarrassed. I'm sure he was grateful to have the extra hands; now we could search for Cassidy. We had to find her soon.

"Just before nightfall we discovered that Cassidy Reed didn't return from scouting in the nearby marsh, but we've so few healthy people, I couldn't afford to let anyone go after her," Danny admitted tiredly. "Who've you got with you, Miri? Can you help us search for Cass now?"

Nodding, Miri introduced the members of her group, which consisted of two other women and five men, as well as two knights of the realm. She explained that Nightbreath had been in attendance at a wedding at Fief Bunnett when Alex arrived at the castle. They were there because the sister of one of their Riders, Tarmin of Nicoline, had just married the youngest son of Lord Jankus of Bunnett. Sir Esmond of Nicoline, Tarmin's older brother, was one of the knights who asked to accompany the group to assist the surviving members of Spiderdeath. My breath caught in my throat and I shrank back into the shadows of my tent when I recognized the other knight, Sir Kavrenel of Legann.

Dark-haired, dark-eyed Kavrenel of Legann is the brother my best friend, Jenetta, who is a new Rider just like me. I suddenly remembered that Lord Jankus of Bunnett had been Kav's knight master during his squire years and that's probably why he had attended the recent wedding, too. Kav is six years older than I am and I met him for the first time at our siblings' wedding. My oldest brother, Kenton, is married to his and Jen's oldest sister, Mariel. In fact, Kav and I are the godsparents of Ken and Mari's oldest child, our nephew, Marcus.

The first time I ever saw Kavrenel of Legann, he was still a royal page - a lanky boy of thirteen - and I caught him in the act of stuffing plum pudding into his sister's wedding slippers. Kav swore me to secrecy with a kiss - yes, my very first kiss on the lips, and it's safe to say that I've had a crush on Kav since I was seven years old. Now he's a tall, dark and handsome man, a blooded knight of the realm even, and he looked absolutely magnificent in his armor, mounted upon his bay mare.

I tried to slip back inside my tent, but Danny caught my movement out of the corner of his eye and beckoned to me, Lilia and Leon to stand with him and Fin. Sighing, I trudged over and hid behind Leo, deliberately not making eye contact with Kav or anyone else. It had been at least three years since I'd last seen Jen's brother and this was _not_ the way I had envisioned meeting up with my long-time crush. Thankfully, Kav merely nodded at me and didn't make any of his usual joking remarks as Danny introduced us to Miri's group.

Afterward, Danny thanked everyone for coming and then he asked me to show them where to get water and where to picket their mounts. Fin already had stoked the fire and Lilia began to fix a quick breakfast of porridge with dried fruit. We could pair up and spread out to search for Cassidy as soon as we all ate and the sky became lighter. Only after all the ponies and horses were settled did Kav make his move.

"Rider Brynna, may I have a word with you, please?" Kav asked as I attempted to wander back toward the campfire with the others.

Swallowing, I turned to face him and realized that I was in deep trouble when I saw the big, lopsided grin on his face. His lively brown eyes twinkled with mischief and he crooked his finger at me. Stupidly, I shook my head and took a step backward. I needed a long, hot bath and clean, fresh clothes before I'd be ready to face what I recognized in Kav's eyes. It didn't matter, though, because he took two quick strides toward me, yanked me behind a tree and then he kissed me fiercely.

The last time Kav had kissed me was right after he'd earned his knighthood. My mother had allowed me to accompany Jen and her parents to Corus and we were so excited to be at the royal palace. We had hoped to see Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan there - she was our heroine, of course - but she was up north battling Scanrans. As soon as they passed their Ordeals, Kav and most of his year-mates were headed north, too.

I was only twelve years old at the time when the eighteen-year-old Kav pulled me into a dark corner of the palace ballroom and touched his lips to mine for the second time in my life. Afterward, he'd tweaked my nose and told me that he looked forward to the day when I'd be presented at court as an eligible young lady. Well, that certainly wasn't going to happen now that I'd become a Rider, was it? Surely Kav would want to choose a _proper_ lady as his bride. Besides, marriage wasn't something that I wanted right now, even though Kav's kisses definitely left me breathless.

Jen and I had often joked around, giving each other kisses to give to our brothers - Dom, with his wicked blue eyes and flirtatious ways, was her lifelong crush. It was still embarrassing for me to remember that Danny had caught us girls giving each other one last kiss before our groups headed their separate ways. Obviously, Jen and I had _never_ kissed each other the way that Kav was kissing me now. It was a good thing that my 'knight in shining armor' was hugging me so tightly while he kissed me because I felt my knees getting weak and my toes curled up inside my boots. When his lips finally released mine, I didn't know which way was up.

"Mithros, Brynna!" he exclaimed happily, and swung me around in his arms before he set me back on the ground. "Look at you - you're all grown up now - and a Rider, too! Jen wrote to me after you both received your assignments and I couldn't believe my ears when your comrade, Alex, rode into Fief Bunnett and said that you were out here. Gods, you're a sight for sore eyes! How are you?"

"I ... uh ... what?" was all I managed to say, horrified at the sight of Danny walking toward the tree line - his mouth pressed together in a tight line. I was sure that he'd seen us.

Kav crossed his arms over his armor-plated chest and chuckled. "I asked you how you're doing."

I shook my head to clear it and then replied shakily, "Well, Kav ... honestly, I've been better. I'm sure that Alex told you that we've uncovered a strange problem with the spidrens in this area. I hope our missing Rider didn't run into any more of the foul beasts while she was out scouting last night."

"Alex also told us about your injuries and how you convinced one of the other magically Gifted Riders to partially heal you so that you could get back into the fight," Kav said proudly. "You never were one to sit still for very long. I'm glad you're still so _feisty, _Brynna!"

The sound of Kav's low chuckle made me feel tingly all over, but I forced myself to focus on the fact that Cass needed our help. Straightening my clothes before Danny reached our location, I told the man who'd just kissed me silly, "We ... we have to find Cass as soon as possible, so I ... I'm real glad that you're here. Of course, there will be time to talk once she's safe, but we really should join the others for breakfast, Kav."

"Yes, Rider Brynna and _Sir_ Kavrenel, you really _should_ join the others for breakfast now," Danny said tersely as he approached them. "We had hoped to plan out our search parties for finding Rider Cassidy while we ate, but we interrupted our discussion when we discovered that you two were missing from the breakfast gathering. I'm so _relieved_ to find that you're both ... quite well."

I truly didn't care for Danny's demeanor or his tone of voice, but I wasn't about to get into an argument in front of Kav, who was smiling at me again. My friendly knight clearly was amused by Danny's display of - what? Certainly he couldn't be jealous, could he? Then again, my leader _had_ misunderstood me and my actions before.

Following Danny as he led us back to the campfire, I turned and whispered to Kav, "I promise we'll talk later. Perhaps we can pair up to search for Cassidy."

Kav merely nodded and sauntered back to the campfire at his own pace while I rushed to keep up with Danny's long strides. No one except Fin - who grinned and winked at me - made eye contact with me when I sat down on a log and ate my bowl of hot porridge. I heard Esmond of Nicoline clap Kav on the back, but I couldn't quite hear their murmurings to each other. I knew that everyone must have figured out what had happened behind the tree and I felt my face burn with embarrassment. I only looked up again when Danny handed out the search party assignments and my name was _not_ among the ones that he called.

"I want Lilia and Brynna to stay here at the campsite with Josh from Nightbreath," I heard Danny gruffly say, "Josh is an experienced Rider and healer and, with his guidance, we should be able to get Spiderdeath mounted on their ponies and be ready for the trip back to Fief Bunnett. The castle and village healers are standing by, awaiting our arrival. Three members of Nightbreath will stay behind to break down the tents and help with the spare mounts. Miri and Fin, as well as Leo and I, will pair up with the rest of the Riders and the knights to search for Cassidy. Any questions?"

I wanted to scream, "Not fair!" at Danny, but I held my tongue. I was determined to behave like a mature young woman, especially in front of Kav and Miri. Kav because, well, he was Kav and Miri because I respected her seniority and didn't want to embarrass myself any further. I tried not to glare at Danny, but I knew that he realized that if looks could kill, he'd be a dead man.

Actually, working with Josh was one of the best things that could have happened to us. Lilia and I learned so much about taking care of others without wearing ourselves down to ineffectiveness that we almost were ashamed of our previous performances. We could hardly wait to share our new knowledge with Leo. Josh was impressed by Lilia's use of water to keep up her strength. He was shocked to hear about the way I had used my Gift to support the cocooned Rider in the tree and kept the injured man from crashing to the ground. By the time Miri, Fin and two other Riders returned to the camp at midday, every member of Spiderdeath was ready to leave.

Shortly after we finished eating our midday meal, Danny and the other search party returned. Their faces were grim, but they had been successful. Kav was supporting a delirious, mud-and-blood-encrusted Cassidy on the saddle in front of him. Lilia and I jumped up to help Cass slide to the ground, while the two other female Riders prepared to carry her down to the stream to wash off the mud after Josh declared that her actual injuries were very slight. I quickly rummaged through Cassidy's packs for a fresh outfit and ran down to the stream with them tied into a sheet which I would use to provide her with some privacy to change her clothes.

By the time we carried Cass back up to the fire, the men had put on some water to make a healing tea for her to drink. Then Josh helped Cass to finish the tea before he boosted her up onto Sir Esmond's horse and tied her torso against the knight's broad back with wide strips of cloth. Once she was settled, the experienced healer placed a cloak over Cass and caused her to go to sleep without a fuss. Fortunately, Sir Esmond didn't seem to mind having a young woman slumped in the saddle behind him.

Even though we all were exhausted, we knew we had to leave the area as soon as possible. Miri told us that if we rode at a steady pace, we could make it to Fief Bunnett by midnight. All of the people who'd been with Danny's search party had an odd, haunted look in their eyes and no one wanted to talk about how or where they'd found Cass. After about an hour of traveling, I maneuvered my pony next to Kav and quietly asked where they'd found our lost comrade, but he only shook his head and firmly told me that Cassidy's tale would have to wait.

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A/N: Please review and let us know how we're doing. We'd love to see your feedback. Thanks so much! Keep reading!! ~~ Ally-Marty :D

**-_- RiderGroup16 -_-**

**12/10/09 **


	16. Ch 14 Killing Kudarungs

**Tortall belongs to the wonderful and amazing Tamora Pierce**

**Read, review and hopefully enjoy**

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_There were many things I wish I hadn't done. I wished I hadn't gone so far ahead to scout. I wished I hadn't waded through the creek. I wished I hadn't approached the horse, and last, but not least, I wished I'd paid attention to where I was headed. If I had, I would've noticed I was going the wrong way._

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**Killing Kudarungs**

**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**

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**Leon of Black-reef**

If Cass hadn't been missing, Sir Kavrenel's reunion with Brynna might have been funny. As it was, only Fin could come close to laughing when Brynna came out of the trees, her face beet-red, with the knight behind her.

As soon as Brynna and Sir Kavrenel came out of hiding, Danny put us in groups. Lilia and Brynna were to stay behind with Nightbreath's Healer. Josh looked to be a veteran of our trade and I was almost envious of the two girls... Almost. They were to look after Spiderdeath and get them ready to be moved.

The rest of us were put into twos and threes to search for Cass. While Danny assigned us to groups, I noticed Miri Fisher eyeing him from behind. Not only did she not seem to like Danny but she also didn't seem particularly thrilled with his pairings.

I was put with Brynna's knight and one of the women in Nightbreath: Elaine. Sir Kavrenel looked to be about twenty and Elaine was perhaps a few years older.

_Great, _I thought,_ a _knight_ and a woman who hasn't spoken a word since she arrived_.

The different groups were given different places to search. Danny and his partner, one of Nightbreath's new recruits named Sebastian, went to try and track Cassidy by starting on her scouting route. With them went two Nightbreath men who were as mismatched as two men could be, but who seemed to get along well enough. Fin, Miri Fisher and a Nightbreath man whose name I have forgotten set out along a game trail hoping that Cass would have the sense to know that one of the paths would lead back to our clearing.

Elaine, Sir Kavrenel and I were told to go down to the creek with Alex, Sir Esmond and a Nightbreath woman who didn't look a day older than twelve. When we made it to the creek, we were to split up and go in opposite directions.

When the six of us were alone, Sir Kavrenel spoke. "Call me Kav. I still find it odd that I'm a 'Sir' even though I've been one for three years."

He grinned at Elaine but she only nodded, unimpressed. Alex muttered under her breath and the rest of us ignored him. When we finally reached the creek, I saw that it was hardly even a creek. It was more of a strange marsh where the mud was thigh deep. We bid farewell to Alex and company and then we began to walk.

Sir Kavrenel carried the palm-sized amulet that would let us communicate with the other groups. He seemed to be more interested in the device than searching for my lost comrade. He twisted it this way and that and even stopped walking to examine how the charm caught the light. Maybe it was because they hadn't seen the spidrens or maybe it was because they didn't know Cassidy, but Sir Kavrenel and Elaine didn't seem as worried about Cassidy as I was. I was looking at every detail around me because I knew it would take something big to stop my friend coming back to camp.

We were at a part in the creek were vines were strung thickly between the trees and the grasses on the edge were at my hip when Elaine stopped walking and pointed across the river. I looked where she was pointing and saw a dead animal carcass. Not only was there no predator eating it, but no scavengers had come for their share either.

"Do you want to investigate?" Sir Kavrenel asked, gesturing for me to go across.

Again, I ignored him and plunged into the muddy water. _Trust a _knight_ to not want to get his pretty clothes dirty. _

"I'll take that as a yes!" Elaine was silent next to the taller knight. She motioned for him to make himself useful and started scouting on their side of the river. Meanwhile I had reached the dead animal.

"It's a raccoon. But do you know what's weird? It looks like there was a horse standing here for quite a while. The hoof prints are quite deep." I mentally kicked myself. I had been too focused on looking ahead and I could have missed this detail but for Elaine's keen observations.

"You're sure they were from a horse and not a hurrok?"

"Yes, Sir Kavrenel, I can tell that it was a horse not a hurrok. Their prints are quite different. The only time game like this goes uneaten is if it was brought down by an immortal. No mortal animal will scavenge from a monster like that." I paused and walked a little closer to shore. "There are human footprints here! It could be Cassidy! It looks like someone came out of the mud from the side Cass was scouting on and came up to the raccoon, backed up and then ran straight back into the water."

Then Elaine finally spoke. "I think whoever it was came out here."

Sir Kavrenel looked at her shocked. I was surprised as well. I had thought that when she finally spoke it would be a weak voice for a shy person. Now I realised that Elaine wasn't shy; she just hadn't had anything to say, so she had stayed quiet. I could think of a few people that I wished had this trait.

"I was beginning to think you were mute!" exclaimed Sir Kavrenel. "Come over and check it out Leo. She might be on to something."

"It's Leon, thank you, Sir Kavrenel." I was pleased to see that he looked taken aback as I waded back through the mud.

We followed the flattened grass on our side of the river back in the opposite direction of camp. I was moving too fast and I didn't look ahead. I stepped in something and it made a rather unpleasant noise. As I lifted my shoe I knew what I was going to see and I wasn't disappointed. Elaine let out a hoot of laughter (she might be quiet but she also had a sense of humour) and Sir Kavrenel hid a smile and tried to look sympathetic.

I suppose I should have tried to laugh it off, but I just glared at them. You might think that as a noble I never would have had to deal with dung-covered clothes, but my brother had rubbed my head in both human and animal faeces on more than one occasion. I hated it. I stomped off into the grass like a petulant child and wiped my boot. When I came back Elaine began to laugh again even louder than before.

Sir Kavrenel was kneeling on the ground. Using a stick, he poked in the half-squashed pile. "This doesn't make sense. This is the size and shape of horse manure, but it doesn't look like it's from a plant-eater. The consistency and the colour looks more like it's from a wolf." The knight trailed off looking uncertain for the first time.

"But that's impossible," I said. "No way is there a flesh eating horse wandering around somewhere.

"Forgive me this, Sir Knight," Elaine was speaking again. She didn't seem to use her voice much but when she did it came out strong and clear. "But how does one raised in a noble household such as yourself know anything about dung? Seems to me most nobles don't know human dung from squirrel dung."

I was slightly offended, but thinking of my sister I had to agree. Even my brother may have had trouble... but no, my brother was a knightand _he_ would definitely know the difference. I started to scowl again at the very thought of my brother.

"It doesn't matter if it's a flesh-eating horse, a regular horse or a dancing bear! We have to find Cassidy." I stalked away, following the trail of broken down weeds and grass. If Cassidy was anywhere near where we were, I would find her. _I would _NOT_ lose two people from my training group in my first year as a Rider. _

"Leo." It was Sir Kavrenel again. Even though I had told him not to call me that, he was doing it anyway. "I'm going to contact Danny Baker. If there's a flesh-eating horse around here we shouldn't attack it alone."

"Ok. You do that. Call for help. And while you do that, I'll scout ahead." I kept walking and after a while I heard soft feet behind me. It was Elaine and together we kept following the trail. Every time the trail got hard to follow, we left a trail sign to make it easier for Sir Kavrenel to find us. We came to a place where we could see the horse's tracks and I could tell that Elaine agreed with me that they did not belong to a hurrok. Five minutes' walk further and we found the body of the beast.

It was a kudarung and it had Cassidy's spear through it. Elaine knelt down beside the flying horse and retrieved the spear. I circled the horse. It didn't make sense. Kudarung were peaceful creatures. They were renowned for their friendly natures. Why would Cassidy kill one?

After another few minutes staring aimlessly I decided that it didn't matter about the horse. Cassidy was all that mattered, even if she had murdered one of the most majestic creatures in the Mortal Realms.

"We've got to find Cassidy." We left left the horse behind and placed another trail sign for Sir Kavrenel to follow since the path ahead was unclear.

The trail was Cassidy-sized now and it was as though the person who had made the path was so tired that she couldn't walk straight. She was headed roughly downhill and I knew that she was aiming for water. Eventually we found a small pond. The water was murky, brown and undrinkable.

Cassidy was lying on the edge. Her skin was very pale and her hair was knotted and tangled with leaves and twigs. Her eyes were pressed tight shut and her clothes were torn and twisted. I ran towards her and knelt down next to her crumpled form. Her chest was rising and falling far too slowly and the movement was too small. I didn't realise I was only staring at my comrade until Elaine spoke again.

"Leo, we have to get her back to camp. You're a Healer aren't you? Can we move her or not?" This jolted me back to awareness. I gently grasped Cassidy's hand probing inside to see what was wrong. She was very tired and severely dehydrated. She had only minor injuries from her dash through the trees and she had overdone it when she had kept going after killing the kudarung.

"She'll be fine when we get some water into her. Food can wait until we get back. Where's that knight? We could really use Danny about now." Trust a knight to be the one that let us down I thought.

Hydration was the most important thing now. I struggled with my water skin, trying to free it from my pack while it was still on my back. Strong hands grasped the straps of my pack and pulled it off my back. Elaine undid the bonds holding the water flask in and handed it to me. I nodded my thanks and tapped my magic to wake Cassidy up.

She woke up slowly and didn't react when she saw who it was.

"Drink, Cass." With much coaxing and wheedling we eventually got Cassidy to drink. Elaine then produced a bread roll saved from breakfast. We had to wet it until it was mushy before I could be sure Cassidy would be able to swallow it without choking, but she did eat the whole roll eventually.

She didn't speak much during the entire episode and Elaine was also silent. I was the one who had to keep talking to keep her awake long enough to drink more water. I assured Cass that the others were only a matter of minutes behind us, but I think she knew me well enough to know that I was lying. As soon as she had finished the bread, I used my Gift to put her into a healing slumber and used my tunic as a pillow.

Elaine and I watched over Cass until the others arrived. It took less than an hour and then they were all there with Sir Kavrenel in the lead. He was the one who had brought them to us even though there had been a wider path away from the dead kudarung that had seemed more likely. The knight also was the one who picked Cassidy up and carried her back to our camp.

It wasn't over yet for Cassidy. She woke up just as we were walking past the kudarung's body. Danny ordered us to stop and one of Nightbreath's men produced more food for Cassidy. It was one Sebastian, the one who had done training at the same time as us, who asked the burning question.

"Why'd you kill the kudarung, Cassidy? Harmless, aren't they?"

I noticed Cassidy's shudder and wondered why, because it was not cold. Her voice came out rasping from long neglect.

"Look at its teeth."

It was Elaine that pulled back the immortal's lips to bare the teeth. They were pointed and stained with dried blood. Elaine cut open the beast's stomach and its last meal - the raccoon - was easy to see. The entire company turned away from the unnatural creature lying in front of us and moved on with Cassidy secure again in Sir Kavrenel's arms.

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**TamoraPierceJunior**

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**See? We've gotten better! It's only a day late!**

**-_-RiderGroup16-_-**

**27/10/09**

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	17. Ch 15 Confusion

_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Chapter 15  


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Confusion. Shock. Uncertainty.

Those were the feelings floating around the camp the night the rescue party brought Cassidy back. No one knew what to make of this new, vile beast that had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, nearly taking the life of one of their own. How was it that an entirely new species of Immortal had emerged without anyone's notice? How could it be that no one else had seen the creature? Had someone seen the Kudarung, only to be deceived by its innocence - as had happened to Cassidy - only to be killed?

The questions never stopped. Everyone skirted around the topics, avoiding the real issues, but the discussion continued all the same. Someone would offer an answer, only to have a few thoughtful murmurs in reply.

Spiderdeath had begun to part ways with the Sixteenth so they could return to the comfort and healing of Corus. They needed to get away from the new beasts that now stalked the forests.

Much to Danny's distaste, Miri had chosen to remain with the Riders that night, sitting around the campfire, staring into the flames as the darkening embers danced up into the night sky.

Fin and Alex were the lookouts for the night, but remained closer to camp than they had before. It was a tacit decision. Neither wanted to admit their fear, the fear of the unknown that lay in wait amongst the trees.

The other Riders and Kavrenel were in a circle around the fire, with the exception of Cassidy who was already asleep within her tent. She had woken barely an hour after the Healer put her under. She was adamant that the group not wait around for her at the fief; they needed to find out as much as they could about these new Immortals as soon as they could. That meant no wasting time. It had been a long argument, but Cassidy had won in the end.

And now they all wondered what they would discover in the coming days. Were there more of these new, flesh-eating Kudarungs? More scheming Spidrens? Or something new and even more appalling?

It was not only the carnivorous teeth on the Kudarung that disturbed them, but the intelligent Spidrens as well.

They had acted as none of their kind had before. Whereas previously they had acted with primal urges, surviving by using instincts rather than wit, they now used combined strategies to entrap their prey. They were saving and storing their prey for future meals. They were using human tactics to feed their animalistic hunger. And that was the most frightening thought of all.

A twig snapped from beneath the fire, cracking as it smoldered.

Leon's voice cut through the silence.

"The Immortal creatures were created by humans, weren't they?" he asked. "From human dreams and nightmares, the human mind and magic created them. Perhaps, like any other creature, they've just ... evolved. Their minds, though incredibly intelligent before, have developed enough to surpass their primal side. This overtaking of the mind could result in more elaborate thinking, perhaps even leading them to devise actual plans to capture their food. After all, the Stormwings have shown themselves to be quite manipulative."

The others stared at him briefly, blinking to clear their thoughts as they replayed what he had said in their minds.

Danny grumbled under his breath besides them. "Trust a noble to bring the development of brains into this."

Miri sent a glare towards the young leader. "You've a good point, Leo," she said towards the green Rider, who was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "I was planning on asking Numair and Daine about this…development tomorrow morning anyway, it'd probably be a good idea for you to run that idea by him, see what he thinks."

Leo's eyes widened. "Are you sure? I mean…I don't have to talk to Master Numair… I mean, he probably doesn't want to talk to me anyway and…"

The Senior Rider just rolled her eyes and gave a small laugh. "A bit afraid of the Master Magician, Rider?"

"No ma'am! He just…"

"…just has a tendency to scare off everyone with his amazing abilities. Don't we all know it?" Miri patted him on the shoulder before standing, making her way into her tent.

Lilia grinned at him from across the fire and he blushed a bit.

Leo grabbed his sack from the ground next to him. "I'm…I'm going to go check on Cassidy. See if she needs anything."

There were a few minutes of silence before Kavrenel got up to leave for his tent as well, glancing at Brynna before moving away from the circle. It went to show how shocking the discovery of the new Kudarung had been for the knight, as he was nearly silent for the entire evening.

The wind whispered through the trees, causing the wood to groan and embers from the fire to fly up, higher than they had before. The flames began to sink lower and lower, as the firewood blackened and charred.

Only a soft glow remained of the fire when the silence was broken once more.

"What now?" Brynna's eyes never moved from the glowing ashes as she spoke out in a voice nearly as quiet as the breeze flowing around them.

The other Riders glanced at one another, before shifting their gaze to their leader, who sat like Brynna, eyes fixated on the dying light. Everyone waited for Danny to speak. For a long moment everything was still, then he took a deep breath and answered.

"Now?" Danny mused. "Now we put our skills to the test; we find out what is going on in this forest. Now we are going to give the Sixteenth a name."

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**Thank you all for reading! **

**darestodream**

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**Much love from all of us to all of you. As a side note, postings will now be happening every second Tuesday rather than every second Monday.**

**-_-Ridergroup16-_-**

**10/11/09  
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	18. Ch 16 Ambient Magic

_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Chapter 16: Ambient Magic  


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"_Now?" Danny mused. "Now we put our skills to the test; we find out what is going on in this forest. Now we are going to give the Sixteenth a name."

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'Baffled' couldn't even begin to describe how the members of the search party were feeling. Uneasy and dirty they trudged through the forest, eerily silent of the usual sounds they were supposed to hear. Knee-deep in mud they moved slowly, dreading each passing step, the feeling of unease making their backs rigid and the hair on the back of their necks stand on edge. They had goosebumps from both fear and the chilly air, despite the fact that winter was a long ways away yet. Their trek through the forest wasn't yielding any results except to make the Riders, and Sir Kavrenel, even more worried. There could be no more doubts about it: something was wrong in this forest.

"I can't wait to hear what Numair says about this." Miri muttered to her second, in a biting tone. Their mood had plummeted to an all-time low since they had entered the forest. The fear of the unknown, fear of the unexplainable things inside the forest had put everybody on guard, the entire group had been silent for a while. They had split from the sixteenth a while ago but were keeping touch through their mage-transmitters. They allowed whomever was holding it to talk to whomever had its twin. They didn't work if the distances were too great but in this case, both literally and figuratively, they worked magically. Both Miri and Danny were supposed let the other know whenever they had found something, but having found very little, there was mostly silence. Every once in a while they'd mutter something just to make sure that the communication wasn't faulty.

They had gotten quite far now from their camp where they had left a few people back to guard both their things and Cassidy whom was still recovering from her own experience in the woods. Alex shivered just thinking about it. Alone? In these woods? Alex shuddered. These woods gave her the creeps far down inside, she could feel the exploding silence and jarring stillness in her bones. She couldn't imagine how Cassidy had survived this place. It was not natural. Lost in these opaque thoughts, she stumbled and Leon's hand shot out to grab her arms in an iron grip.

"Thanks, Leo." She told him, setting herself straight and tugging her hand away from him. He didn't let her go, his fingers stayed on her arm, crushing it.

"Ow! Lemme go!" She told him., wincing from the strength of his grip. The group had turned to watch them perplexed. Leo shook his head as if to clear it.

"Sorry," he muttered, releasing his grip. "I thought I saw something." Alex turned to look behind her were Leon's eyes were fixed. She shivered again, this place had 'evil' written all over it. He shook his head again and turned to join the group who'd started walking away. Alex stayed watching the darkness about her for a while yet until she ran to catch up with the rest of them. No way she'd be left alone in the forest.

"What in the Realms' name is with this darkness?" Bryna muttered as she picked her way through some boggy tall grasses. It was dark now, dark like the evening rather than the mid-day it was supposed to be. She flinched as a bird swooped above. It's loud cawing had the entire group drop low and become still. It was the first 'normal' noise they had heard all morning.

"Just a stupid bird." Fin muttered as he stood, the others followed his lead and stood as well. Brynna was the last to straighten. She gave the circling bird a sad glance, she wondered what had happened to its family and the rest of the birds in the forest. Whether they were simply silent or whether they were gone. They couldn't all have left, could they? She shared a knowing look with Danny, the whole group was quickly becoming useless. They all flinched at shadows and hid at even the slightest noise. Brynna's own palms were starting to sweat. She wiped them impatiently on her breeches but couldn't ignore the nagging feeling of unease at the back of her head. Her legs trembled slightly as she urged them to start walking again.

She was tired and scared and wanted nothing better than to leave this place. However, if there was anything she had learned in her life, it was to never leave a mess unresolved, it would just create an even bigger mess later on for someone else to clean. She just hoped that cleaning it now would not be paid in price of blood, hers or anybody else's.

They returned to their previous state of silence as the forest echoed about them. Danny had the lead, he too shook in his boots but did his best to hide it. The last thing this group needed was to know that their group leader was terrified. So he kept his knees bent, keeping himself low to the ground. His ears strained to hear any peculiar sound and his eyes flitted about the trees for a tiny flicker of movement that did not come.

"Danny?" Came Miri's voice from the mage-pendant that hung around his neck. The sound in the silence made him jump a little, sending his heartbeat skyrocketing.

"Yes?" He asked mildly, doing his best to keep his voice calm and sure of itself. He cursed his twitching.

"Numair messaged me, they're on their way." She didn't need to explain the plural, where Numair the black-robed mage was, so was Daine the Wildmage, and vice versa.

"If they get to you first, fill them in and let them do whatever they think is best." Danny flicked his tongues over his teeth in annoyance. Did she think him incompetent? What did she think he'd do exactly when the Wildmage and the Carthaki mage arrived, attack them? He let out his breath in a huff, as much as she irked him, Fisher was still his superior.

"Of course." He told her, biting his tongue to stop the flow of sarcasm that was threatening to spill into his words. He could practically see her scowl, meaning he hadn't hidden the sarcasm as well as he'd hoped, but he could care less. She was treating him like a green rider, and he wouldn't stand for it. He willed the connection to drop and was thankful when it did. He didn't want her to hear the words he was muttering. He very vaguely remembered the herbal soap his mother had stuck in his mouth when she'd heard him mutter such was home-made since the family did not have the kind of money a family that could simply buy soap had. It was made with the herbs his mother didn't put in the food. There was a reason she never put them in, and the taste of the soap had reflected it. He had made sure never to repeat those words again when anywhere close to his mother or any siblings that could tattle on him. He shook his head at the memory, such days seemed so far away sometimes. He felt like he'd grown decades in the last few years. He wondered if his siblings would remember him. He wondered if any were married, he hadn't bothered to keep in contact very often. He vowed to write home when he got back, if he even survived this adventure.

"Danny, to the west." Fin muttered to him, his voice thick with worry laced with anticipation. Danny shifted his focus until he too heard the flapping of a bird...two birds. He had seen Master Numair in that shape before enough to tell that it was him that came, the smaller bird next to him had to therefore be his wife. He told as much to his group as he held his two fingers up in sign of stop moving. They tensed and relaxed as he told them, though they all held wary eyes on the approaching figures. The two birds landed on the branch of the tree to Danny's right, master Numair hopped down and transformed, turning into one of the tallest men Danny had ever seen. He;d been thankful not to have to stand to near the mage before, now, in comparison, he felt smaller than he'd ever had. The mage appeared scruffy, tired and as scary-looking as the group had ever seen him. His long black robe billowed behind him. Danny knew he never wore the robe unless he was on official business. He took a smaller robe out of one of his pockets. He held it out to the other bird who slowly transformed and quickly stuck her human arms through the robe's openings. Master Numair turned his owly stare out to the forest, ignoring the group for a moment, it was Daine whom spoke.

"Hello, Danny." They'd met at meetings in the past, though he was surprised she'd remembered his name. Then again, she'd probably been briefed before she came to them, which would explain it much better.

"Hello Daine." He said, unsure of what to call the strange woman before him. She smiled and turned her troubled look in her husband's direction. She shuddered slightly before grimacing.

"The forest is sick." She said, in a voice that reminded him of a mother talking about a child. "There is something evil at work here." She said, frowning. She shuddered again. Danny had no clue how her magic worked exactly, but he figured that if the forest was sick, and she was connected to nature, that it was making her sick too. He wouldn't bet on that though, it was a very roundly-estimated guess.

"Yes, I feel it too." Numair Salmalìn said too, still staring into the forest, a look of confusion and worry etched into the hard planed of his face. He looked at the group again, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Tell me, please." Danny glanced around before cursing, it would be his job to fill them in. He spoke quickly but quietly, not liking the way his voice echoed in the trees. He told them of the spidrens, of the way they'd found the other rider group, he spoke of the kudarung and of Cassidy's venture into the forest. He spoke of the silence and the darkness and he told them about the strange occurrences and prints they sometimes found. A bird's print the size of a wolf's, a gilly-flower the size of both Danny's spread fingers put together. When his report wound to a close it sounded more like a fairytale lacking an ending than a formal report to his superiors. The wind had slowly picked up to a howl as he spoke, and now the silence was punctured by the sound of it as it tore through the clearing they had made their way to.

"We'll stop for lunch." Numair told them. "I need time to think." Fin sat with a delighted sigh until Danny shot him a glare.

"Go collect some wood for a fire." Danny told him. He stood with an exaggerated groan and a yelp of protest.

"But the fire'll never stay wit' the wind blowin' this hard." he said, gesturing impatiently about him. Danny glared.

"Take Alex." Fin huffed, opening his mouth to complain when Alex grabbed him and wheeled him away, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Danny almost chuckled. Almost. He turned to Numair who sat on a fallen log with a thoughtful look on his face, he looked about him and stopped as he looked at Lilian. She was openly staring but she dropped her eyes as soon as she saw him looking at her. A soft blush sprinkled across her cheeks as she hung her head. When she peered at him again through her hair, he crooked a finger at her, not minding in the least the fact that she looked mortified. She took small steps towards him, as if terrified he'd tell her off. Danny took a few steps closer, wondering what he'd do if the man started telling at her. He felt oddly protective of the shy girl who'd done incredible things only to fade again into the background. He tensed as the black-robed mage opened his mouth to speak. His voice was surprisingly gentle.

"I am going to probe your magic for a moment, it won't hurt, but it will feel as if I am trying to attack you. I am not, I just need to see something. May I?" She stared at him silently for a moment too long before nodding her head mutely. He held his hand to hers and she took it hesitantly, she gasped. Brynna tensed and took half a step forwards, he didn't seem to be hurting her though, so he stopped and straightened once more. The two stood holding hands for a long while, Danny discovered a tick in his cheek as he waited impatiently. He didn't like magic, didn't like what he couldn't understand.

"What's he doin'?" Fin asked behind him, his voice lacked its usual boisterousness, Danny hadn't even realized that he had come back.

"I'm trying to figure out what sort of magic she has." Master Numair answered, finally letting go of the young Rider's hand.

"It would appear, my dear, that you have a form of Wildmagic. It's Ambient, connected to water, as far as I can tell. If I had more time..." He trailed off, murmuring to himself in a voice so low Danny could not hear him.

"I don't have Wildmagic." Lilian protested quietly, her voice was sure of itself however.

"It's hardly anything to worry about." The mage chuckled. "It simply means your magic works a little differently." She trembled slightly but nodded. Fin figured that she would have nodded at whatever came out of the man's mouth at the point.

"I want you to try to make a ball of light, as big as you can." he told her gently. Lilian nodded mutely and held her hands parallel, a foot apart. Slowly a tiny ball of light started to form in the middle, quickly expanding until it was the size of two of Fin's fists, that's where it stopped growing.

"Is that as big as you can make it?" The man asked.

"Yes. I told you my magic wasn't much." Lilian told him as the ball started to disappear.

"No, hold it please." He told her, waving away her previous protests. The ball brightened again as the girl started to concentrate harder.

"Now, I will help guide your magic to the earth, let me. You'll feel a jolt of energy, focus it into your ball." He told her as he put a hand on her shoulder and moved his other hand to the ground, opening his palm as he shot what fin assumed was his magic into it. After a moment Lilian's eyes widened and her ball flared, growing, growing, growing... it expanded to brighten the entire clearing with its steady blue glow. When the older mage removed his hand from her shoulder the ball diminished again and eventually flickered out. The clearing turned dark once more.

"Did you feel the channel I opened up?" He asked her, she nodded, eyes still wide and staring.

"I connected your magic to the earth. The ground, especially in this marshland," the mage said distastefully, wrinkling his nose, "is saturated with water." He finished. Daine laughed, emerging from wherever she had gone, as she saw the blank look on Lilian's face.

"In the Crown's English, your gift is connected to water. Because the ground is full of water, when your gift comes into contact with it, you receive much more energy, at the ground's expense rather than yours." She said, a look of comprehension and relief covered Lilian's features before she schooled them back to neutral.

"So she can just take energy from the ground without ever using any of her own?" Leon asked, completely baffled and a little jealous. He was thinking of all the things he could do, people he could help if he had an unlimited supply of energy.

"Not without consequences." Brynna said, pointing a finger to the ground. Where Numair's magic had penetrated, the ground was scorched and the grasses that had grown there moments ago were gone.

"Did I do that?" Lilian asked, looking remorseful.

"You draw energy from the ground, but you drew too much, you took away the energy it needed to live and so the plants there died. It is a matter of controlling the flow of energy, and giving some back." Numair said gently.

"Nature is about balance, taking without giving back means you are changing the balance." Daine offered in, as much for Lilian as her comment was for Leon.

"Uh, Danny, has that bird always been there?" Alex asked standing next to Danny. The group wheeled around where her eyes were fixed upon an odd bird. It was big, Danny gouged it at about sixty centimeters. It was perched on a tree and stared at them with malevolent red eyes. That wasn't the creepiest part about this bird, and certainly not the most unnerving part. The bird stared at them with two sets of eyes for upon its torso were two necks holding two heads. The bird gave a low Dreep-eep sound and took off with a swoop of wings, it climbed clumsily to the air and spun in big circles above the forest.

"Anas acuta." Daine murmured, looking taken aback. "But what's it doing here?"

"Do you not care at all that that thing had two heads?" Fin exploded, spooked by the bird.

"There are things at work here that are not normal." Numair muttered. "And just when I'd thought that I'd seen all there was to see." His hands were raised, they sparkled black with his potent magic. The bird did not come back.

"Look," Brynna said. She had moved closer to where the bird had been, the only one to do so. The others hastened suite. There were deep claw marks on the branch.

"That was a duck, it didn't have claws." Leon said.

"Those are stormwing marks." Danny said, having seen them more often than he cared for. Daine nodded in confirmation.

"Stormwings? Here?" Alex squeaked. She had issues with birds, Brynna remembered, especially ducks. Alex had never been fond of that particular winged species.

"They're usually farther north or south, there isn't much here. Most humans avoid this land if they can." Brynna told her, recalling all the immortals lessons she'd been subjected to as a Rider-in-training.

"It's the forest's aura that attracts them." Numair explained. "This place stinks of evil from miles away, it's bound to attract the more nasty creatures. Perhaps the stormwings were drawn by that, perhaps they feel a bloodbath coming." He added absentmindedly. The group froze, eyes darting from one face to the next. If there was a bloodbath here, it meant that the group would find its way to the centre of it. Stormwings did not enjoy the death of animals, they were created to prey on the death of humans, of their dead. They were battlefield demons. If the stormwings were here, then death was bound to follow. Danny grasped the mage-transmitter.

"Fisher!" he called. "We got some unwanted visitors." The reply was a loud crackling and fizzing.

"Miri?"He asked again, silence echoed on the other side. The dread at the pit of his stomach grew. _Damn!_ He cursed, when were they ever going to get a break?

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**Hope you liked the chapter and it cleared some things up for you about Lilian's magic, we've been getting some questions about it.**

**-_-MusicIsWorthLivinFor-_-  
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**I know we said we'd post on Tuesdays and we will. There was a delay in the writing due to a family emergency, it's all been cleared up now though and posting's will resume every second Tuesday. Thank you.  
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**Ridergroup16**

**08/12/09  
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	19. Ch 17 Facial Expressions

_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Chapter 17: Facial Expressions  


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"_Miri?"He asked again, silence echoed on the other side. The dread at the pit of his stomach grew. Damn! He cursed, when were they ever going to get a break?

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_--_

_Of all the Gods-cursed..._ the stream of swears that rolled off of Danny's tongue as he fumed were shocking, but nothing Lilian hadn't heard from the sailor coves she'd met on her trips to port. Numair too had started cussing like the worst of them, but he'd raised his bejewelled hands and let his haze of magic swell and raise until it darted into the trees scouting, searching.

"They're north-east two miles." He said as Daine leaped into the air, shedding her clothes as she did, rising as a sharp-beaked bird. She spiralled towards the dark sky and with a quick shriek, took off north-east as the group followed on foot. They ran through the muddy ground, slowed to a pace that could barely be defined as a a jog.

Lilian watched the boots ahead of her splashing, raising waves of slime that soaked up to her knees. They got to a deeper part of the bog, the group trying to make the best use of fallen logs, but speed was more important than comfort at the moment. The only thing Lilian really worried about was her bow. This could not be good for it. For the first time in her life Lilian wished she sat mounted on her horse. Being a creature of water, somebody who'd lived her entire life out at sea, she had never once liked sitting atop a horse, but desperate circumstances called for desperate prayers. Lilian had never been one much for Mithros or the Goddess, she'd make the symbol against evil when time called for it, she'd mayhap drop a flower on a shrine on her way through a city, but she'd never been one for prayers. Now she hurriedly muttered one under her breath as they raced to what she sincerely hoped were not 'd never met the creatures herself, but the stories of what they were, what they did- they were too gruesome. She could already see the other group trying to fight them off but getting pulled down into the mud. She shook her head sharply, this was the last thing she needed to think about. Panicking would be a bad idea in this situation.

Alex's face puckered up in a sour expression as a droplet of the brown mud sprayed into he mouth. Ew. However, she'd rather be drowned in mud than have much ado with stormwings. _Stormwings_. The horror. Her brother had enjoyed taunting her with stories of the immortals when she was younger. He'd been younger then, much younger, and in that girls-are-gross faze some boys never grew out of. He'd told her all about Basilisks, magical horses, dragons... but nothing had stayed with her quite so much as stormwings had. How could the crown bargain with creatures that fed off of pain and fear? Who ate rotting corpses on the battle field? How could anybody even _talk_ with them? Alex was of the very string opinion that all stormwings should be exterminated for the sake of the human race. For everybody's sake. Even other immortals'.

"We're close." Danny dropped to a quick walk, scanning the surroundings. The rest of the group slowed as well, though all Alex wanted to do was run the other way, run fast. She felt ashamed then, felt like a coward, how could she abandon her companions to the hands of those things? But the truth was that she was scared- no, terrified. And fear made brave people do stupid things.

Up ahead they heard a skirmish, of clangs of armour and weapons, of yelling. There were loud cracks, unexplainable cracks. Danny held up a hand to top the group. Stop? Why on earth were they stopping? Alex couldn't help but wonder, fighting every molecule within her to go help her friends. It didn't sound like stormwings, surely there would be bird-like sounds, no? Besides, their friends were in danger!

Danny's hands were a blur of silent instructions, the group re-aligned. People who were better with bows took the back; Lilia and Brynna. Numair, as he fought with magic, was behind them still. Danny and Fin took the front with Leon and Alex behind them. Then the hand came down sharply, a clear signal of entering the battle.

As they rushed, quickly but surely forwards, they were prepared for anything. They stopped on the eve of the fight, 'anything' was a vague word anyway.

"What the-" Danny's remark was cut short as a huge branch whipped him in the stomach, making him fly several feet in the air and falling down in a crumpled heap some meters behind them. Too shocked to move they stood there, mouths open wide in awe of the masses of knobbly branches that undulated above them and then, as one, headed towards them.

"Move!" Lilian yelled, her voice shrill. Alex threw herself forwards, dodging a branch as thick as her waist that struck where her head had been moments before. It whipped up and came down where she lay with the force of a hurricane. Alex closed her eyes, too stunned to even weep. This was how she was going to die, a tree was going to kill her. She had the urge to laugh, if only her demise was not so quick in coming. When nothing hit her, she risked a squint. The branch had been blasted away by black magic.

"Ge' up!" Danny yelled, grabbing her by her shoulders and heaving her up, dead weight. On wobbly knees she stood, shaking. Danny shoved her hard, weapon out and eyes sharper than the blade. He had blood trickling down from his temple but he took, seemingly, no notice.

"Either make yourself useful, or leave. You're either with us, or without us." His eyes bore into hers for a split second, but she found it hard to breathe. He was right, of course he was right. She just needed to get her weapon, clear her head. She could do it. But then a shriek made her look up and there they were; the stormwings. Two of them. And everything froze in Alex's mind. She couldn't-

"Go Alex, just go." And his voice was warm as his eyes were cold. He knew, he just knew she wouldn't stay. Another branch came hurting, a small one lashing out like a whip. It hit her square in the face and knocked her backwards. The pain blinded her as much as the blood did. Ruby red droplets making their way into her eyes, stinging her. She wiped at them as she fought to stay her stomach. She lurched to her feet as something slammed into her shoulder, and down she went again. She stumbled upright again, tears streaming down her face, to add to the blood, to add to the confusion.

"Go Alex." And there he was again; Danny. His eyes were softer now, but they lingered only a moment, before he ducked and joined the fray again. He always did look out for his own, even if it was Alexea of Kennan, a stupid noble and a stupid girl. She felt so bitter right now she was sure her blood would taste as ale. He looked out for his own, and to protect them from her he was telling her to go. She was a danger to them all. So Alex did what she'd always done in her life. She ran away from everything: her problems, her fears, from danger. She ran away and did not look back.

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Fin cursed and cursed and cursed. Cursed like he'd never dared curse back home. What a backhand his mother would have thrown at him had he ever dared soil her doorstep with words such as these! He stared up at the trees as he cursed some more. The trees had gone insane. It was the only explanation to this huge mess. The trees were alive and angry, their branches swinging in deadly arches, every once in a while catching a rider and throwing them so far and so hard that they took a while to get back up again. It was the only thing the riders could do, protect the momentarily stunned companions. When a rider went down, the other would swarm to that spot and distract the tree so the fallen man -or woman- could get back onto his or her feet and shake themselves into alertness. A scream ripped through the air as a female rider took a hard hit from the side and was sent flying. Her scream cut short as she slammed face-first into a tree trunk.

_Stinking piece of--_ they were losing and nothing they could do would help them. Backup would never arrive in time, if anybody had had the moment to even call for it. Their hand-to-hand weapons were useless, their bows even less helpful. How could you fight a tree? Fire. Fire was the answer, but how to create fire without burning the forest? Without burning themselves alive? A blast of power hit on of the biggest branches and the thing exploded into a thousand tiny fragments, hitting them all, embedding themselves into exposed flesh. Fin sucked in a breath as a wood ship entered at his torn knee cap, with no intention of ever coming out. They were going to die here.

They were going to die in this clearing, in this gods-forsaken forest of nightmares. He would never see his brothers nor his sisters, never say goodbye to his mama, never see his other friends again. He knew this day would happen eventually, but he had never imagined it like this, in this pit of evil. Staring about himself in utter desperation however, he could not help but acknowledge that there were no other people he'd rather fight beside, or die fighting beside, as the case was. He wished however, that he'd had more time with them.

Danny with his hard-ass ways, always trying to prove something, even if Fin never understood what. Danny was a true leader, who cared for his group, even if getting his to admit it was like trying to make a pig fly. Lilian, the quiet girl with the eyes that looked about a hundred years old. With the wicked magic. Brynna, the noble spider-monkey with a set of fighting skills to make anybody think twice before crossing her. There was Leon, the pessimistic son of a stormwing who stuck to himself, but never hesitated to stand up to Danny when it came to one of his friends. How he'd loved to needle Leon. There was Cassidy, the mule-headed female-rights defender with eyes that shone as she argued. Mayhap, she was the person she'd miss the most. He'd loved a good argument, and she wasn't here. She would hate herself if we were all killed as she was left behind. It wasn't fair that they'd all die, her place was here among them, her death was here, with them. He'd never regret that she had stayed behind though, she'd live, she'd carry the mantel of the sixteenth and do it proud. He just wish he could just give her a peck on the lips. Just to feel the familiar feel of her fish in his stomach, just because it was familiar. There was nothing romantic in it, of course. And then there was Alex- but he couldn't find her. Her face was not amongst the ones standing, and he couldn't tell if it was amongst the ones on the ground. But he'd tarried too long, looking for her where she wasn't, and the only words that came to his mind as he snapped back from the force of the branch were: _this is it. _He slid down the tree trunk and fell to a crumpled heap on the cold, hard ground. His world went black.

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Fin felt himself getting shaken with the force of an avalanche. He'd never seen an avalanche, but he'd heard of them. Happened often in Galla, or so he'd heard. His head pounded and his temples throbbed. Surely if he were dead he'd cease to hurt. Was this what the voyage to the lands of the dead felt like? It wasn't at all as smooth as what the black-robed priests described. He shook again and his chest pounded.

"You sarden lazy-bum, open your gods-damned eyes or so help me Mithros I will go to the land of the dead and drag you back by your ears. We have years of work to do together, you are not abandoning me with all this work like usual. You heard me, you son of a trollop? Wake up!" Wow. The voice of the Black God sounded a lot like Danny. An angry Danny. He'd take the Black God any day over that.

"Wake up." Fin opened his eyes groggily, blinking at the stiffness in his lids caused by dried blood. His. Oh, Gods. What had happened to him?

"Oh, thank the Goddess." Brynna said, he could remember her voice perfectly.

"Welcome back, old friend." Fin looked into Danny's eyes, they shone so the man ducked his head to hide the tears. Men like Danny did not cry in public. Fin tackled the man in a hug and the two held onto each other like oxygen. They'd been through thick and thin, they were like brothers. The world would not be the same if one of them left the other for good. With a manly cough and clearing of throat the two let go of each other. Danny stood and gave his hand to Fin who gripped it and stood. The two let go of each others' hands the moment Fin was up. They avoided each other's eyes.

"Men." Brynna muttered as she headed onto the next person that was on the ground. The little group dispersed, but kept fairly close to each other. Fin, having trouble moving, leaned on a tree as was ordered and looked up. They were in circle of dead, twisted things. Like the trees had been burned and then the fire had left, leaving everything but the trees and the ground below them untouched. That was not possible. Fin leaned against a tree that had escaped the slaughter because it had been one of the trees that had done naught. He caught a glimpse of the black-robbed mage on the ground looking pasty pale. So that explained it. Fin had to admit that no matter how scared he was of the man, he came in handy in these kinds of situations.

Nightbreath had nine members, and three had stayed behind with the horses, supplies, and Cassidy. So they had six members in the fight plus the knight; Sir Kavrenel. The sixteenth had seven members, and only Cassidy had stayed behind. Alex, according to Danny, had left, and he had no clue for where. So, five in the fight. There had been Numair and Daine. Fourteen fighters, and of the people whom had been down, two stayed. That cut the group down to twelve people, plus a few of those needed other s to support them because they couldn't stand. That made for a group that could not stand any more losses, they headed back to camp, carrying their dead and helping their wounded, as bitter and full of anger as they could possibly feel. Any more and they would explode. The walk back to camp lasted an eternity, to the more steps they took, the longer the route seemed to be. Miri and Danny talked in the front, discussing things with Daine and a tired Numair. The rest of the group marshaled forwards ashen-faced. When they finally broke through to where they could see the horses, many just fell to their knees where they stood. They were still in the forest, but on the outskirts where the sky was blue and the mud only reached to the ankles. It was so beautiful because it was not ugly. If that made sense.

The four people of the camp rushed forwards, disbelief loud like the cry of the seagulls drawn upon their faces. They had left perfectly safe and clean, they came back a mess of torn clothes, torn skin and blood. They carried the dead. The whole feeling of wanting to sink into the earth and be gobbled up only tripled when one of Nightbreath's members placed one of the dead members on the ground and what could only have been his lover, one of the guards whom had stayed behind, covered her mouth with her hand, sank to the mud and screamed. The scream was hollow, wordless, screaming for the sake of screaming., For getting rid of the pain that was inside. The scream reverberated within everyone, its cry of sadness and pain so loud it cut like edges of knives into the hearts of all, including of the strangers to the group –the sixteenth. The woman scrabbled towards the man, trying to hear his stilled heartbeat, trying to find a pulse that no longer beat. She began to do first aid on him, useless as it was, in her state of complete shock. Another member of the group, grabbed her around the shoulders and held her still until her brain caught up with the facts and she dropped all the fighting and stilled. He let go of her and she fell upon her lost love and sobbed. The moment was so intimate that Fin had to look away. His gaze wandered to Cassidy's ghost-white face. As if feeling her stare on him she looked up, the moment their eyes met he turned away, picked up his bow, strung it, and went to do guard duty.

--

"Fin! _Fin_!" Fin's head snapped up at the sound of Alex's voice as she pelted towards him. He dropped his bow,m knowing that it was not good for the weapon and not caring, and grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug. He lifted her up and as she gasped a laugh, let her slowly to the ground. Her face was ruddy red but her eyes held determination.

"Alex!" Cassidy ran towards her and hugged her. Alex stepped out of the hug respectfully and kept her eyes glued to the ground.

"I have to talk with Danny." She said before shuffling away. Fin and Cassidy shared a look of confusion before following her.

"Hey, ye!" Fin said to one of Nightbreath as he passed. "Yer on Guard duty, congrats." He shoved his bow in the guy's unsuspecting hands and rushed away.

"Hey!" The man yelled after him, Fin didn't bother to turn around, let alone reply. He came upon the rest of his group mates as they converged on Alex. Alex and Miri were looking at her as if they were unsure of what she'd just said.

"She said she thinks she knows what's going on with the forest." Cassidy's whisper was a warm breath on his neck and he didn't look at her as he nodded slightly and leaned in to listen.

"Well-- Numair said the forest felt evil, right? Or was it Daine? I don't remember. Anyway, what do birds and immortals and plants have in common?" She paused, as if actually waiting for an answer.

"Alex--"

"No! Hear me out, Danny. Think. What do they have in common?" That shut him up, Alex wasn't one to yell, and her fury shone in her eyes like fire.

"They all need food and drink to survive." Brynna said, following Alex's lead and giving the girl the support she needed.

"Even more specific!" Alex said, staring at Brynna intensely, as if she were close to finishing the puzzle, to solving the solution.

"They all drink water." Daine muttered, her eyes widened as if just realizing what she had just said.

"Precisely! There's a river not too far from where we were. It absolutely stinks of evil--" That's when Numair cut in in a voice that was so matter-of-fact you would think he had known it all along.

"-and because things drink from it, they absorb its evil. The river must be contaminated, no wonder why the area around the trees smelled so much more like evil. The water from the river must have saturated into the ground, so the trees roots must have gotten contaminated..." and his voice died off with mutterings that got too complex for anybody other than mayhap Daine to understand.

"Are you sure about this?" Miri asked, staring down at Alex like a hawk. Her eyes were cold, that was most probably due to the losses her group had sustained during the day.

"Do you know how to find this place again?" Alex steeled herself, jutted her chin forwards and planted her feet shoulder-width apart.

"Yes. I can take you there tonight even. It is time to end this thing." Her voice was iron cold but even a baby could tell that Miri was dubious.

"I won't go getting my group slaughtered if you're not sure. How can you be sure?" Her tone made Fin bristle, Alex wouldn't lie, not about this.

"Yes, I'm sure. I marked the road as I came back towards the camp. I can find it again." Miri looked her up and down and then turned to Danny.

"What do you think." She did not like him but she clearly trusted his judgement. He looked at Alex, measuring her. He should say that he believed her. Fin watched disbelievingly as uncertainty flickered in Danny's gaze. Alex wouldn't say this if she wasn't sure, of course Danny knew that, didn't he. Suddenly his gaze hardened.

"I think she's right, we should follow her." There was silence, the look of relief took hold of Alex's face. She was also disbelieving as she stared at her group leader, had she thought he would not back her? Fin rubbed his eyes tiredly, today was too much. He wanted to go to sleep and never get up again. Miri gave Alex a look over, nodded and went to confer with Daine and Numair in a more private setting, no doubt to discuss strategy.

"Thank you." Alex said, blushing and ducking her head as her voice cracked.

"Danny!" Miri called. He looked over and then looked back at Alex. Something in his gaze that Fin couldn't decipher. Then he put a hand on her slightly-trembling shoulder and headed off in the direction of the voice calling for him.

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"Why. I have to know why." Alex said, coming up behind Danny at the abandoned campfire. The others had gone to bed, exhausted from a silent dinner after an impossibly-long day. Only Danny was left and the Riders on guard duty, but they had gone to their stations. He sat watching the dying embers as he often did, it helped him think so he was always the last one left.

"I knew you'd come to ask." He said, not giving an answer to her question. He didn't turn to look at her, forcing her to walk around and sit next to him.

"You told me to leave the battle. You knew I was a... liability. And now you trust me to guide you through an evil forest. You don't make sense, Danny." The corners of his mouth flickered upwards in a small smile before coming back down in a sober expression.

"I didn't send you away because you were a liability to the group." Her eyes hardened as she looked at him.

"Say whatever you want to me, but do not treat me like a child." And indeed she'd done her own thinking as she stumbled away from the battle. She was tired of how everybody looked at her like she was the weakest link. Like she was nothing because sometimes she acted naive. She was naive, but she wasn't a child anymore, and she was tired of people treating her like one. And she was tired of running away.

"I'm not. I'm treating you like a Rider. I sent you away because you were a liability to yourself."

"What in the realms is that supposed to mean?" He smiled slightly again, but it, too, faded. Today was not a day for smiling.

"Riders aren't invincible. They're people like anybody else, but trained in combat, among other things. We all have our fears, we all choke up. The stormwings didn't do anything, they left, we wouldn't let them at our dead, and Daine chased them away. But you froze, and that would have meant your life if you'd stayed."

"But... I left. I _left_. I left my group--"

"We could afford to lose you/ The only way we came out alive from there was because of Numair. Without him we would have died, whether you were there or not."

"So you... saved my life." He didn't look at her, didn't want the gratitude he heard in it. He hadn't only done it for her.

"You'll need to confront your fear sooner or later, but there's no point to confronting it if you're dead afterwards. I want you to work on it, it _is_ a danger to the group. But everybody has fears." He told her, hating how the bile rose in his throat.

"Nobody blames you for freezing up with the raiders." Damn it. Damn her. That was why he stayed away from Alexea of Kennan. She was too forthcoming. She never shut her mouth, was never scared of saying the hard truths people didn't want to hear.

"I could have killed you." He hated how his voice was close to choking. How his lungs felt like they were tightening and tightening.

"You snapped out of it."

"Not fast enough." _Not nearly fast enough_ he thought angrily.

"We're alive now. We're alive today because of you." She said in that sincere voice that made him want to hit something, punch a tree in rage. He clamped down on his emotions.

"And we will get out of this forest alive." She said. The _hopefully_ went unsaid. He looked down at her as she stood. She had her heart in the right place, but he was afraid that her heart wouldn't save her in this place.

"Yes." _Liar._ He told himself. "We will. Goodnight Kennan." He said, turning and walking away. His fists clenched in front of him where she couldn't see them. He slid into his cot and wiped at the sweat on his brow. Danny Baker had always listened to his instincts, always. They had helped him out of tricky situations too many times to count. But what did one do when their instincts told you that you were going to die? That no matter what you did you were going to die? What did one do then?

Alexea of Kennan stayed next to the fire, even though it made scarcely more light than a candle would by now. She stared into the dark of the night and cursed herself over and over. Cursed herself for running away and cursed herself for signing herself up for a job she wasn't sure she could do. One thing was certain though, she would right her wrongs. She would work at her fear and she would lead them to the river. She might not make it out alive, but she would do it. She was done being treated like a child by everybody, done being treated like a child by herself. She slid into her cot and went to sleep with a satisfactory smile on her face.

The look on one's face as they went to sleep can tell you the most about that person, for that was the most important difference between Danny Baker and Alexea of Kennan. Danny's brow was furrowed and his mouth drawn into a grim line of despair, anguish and the sinking sensation of absolute certainty in the face of death. And he was ready for it. The expression on his face told anybody who knew him and who didn't, that Danny Baker was a fighter and would die as one. Alexea of Kennan had a smile on her face. A smile of somebody who won, of somebody warm and soft; the summer to Danny Baker's winter. Her heart was in the right place and it was sure to anybody who knew her and to those who didn't that Alexea of Kennan was a fighter. But there was the difference, Alexea of Kennan would die in a different way than Danny Baker. She would die in somebody's arms just as he would die in the cold by himself. It didn't change a thing though: everybody dies alone.

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**Hem, merry Christmas. Don't let me get you down. Err, sorry about that. I'm a bit of a morbid person. Happy Kwanzaa.  
**

**xxTunstall Chickxx  
**

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**-_-Ridergroup16-_-**

**24/12/09  
**


	20. Ch 18 BlackWater

**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**

**Disclaimer: All of Tortall belongs to Tamora Pierce. We just like to play around in her world.**

**A/N: Happy New Year! It's almost hard for us to believe that we've been at this story for over a year now. Thanks for your support of our work! We hope you'll continue to enjoy our story as we spin it along. :D**

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But there was the difference; Alexea of Kennan would die in a different way than Danny Baker. She would die in somebody's arms just as he would die in the cold by himself. It didn't change a thing though: everybody dies alone.

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Chapter 18: BlackWater

A sense of heaviness dragged at the Riders and their companions as the sun rose on another day in the horrible forest. Sorrow for their fallen comrades from Nightbreath, as well as worry for themselves, made everyone unusually quiet and introspective before breakfast. Only a few people seemed to have anything to say to each other.

Off to the side of his tent, Kav pulled Brynna close to him for a long embrace. She didn't pull away as she had done before. Instead, she lifted her face to his for a short, but incredibly sweet, kiss before she left him to help Alex with the cook fire. Together, the two young women prepared a breakfast of warm bread and hot cereal with pieces of dried fruit mixed into it for the whole camp.

"Thank you for backing me up yesterday," Alex whispered to Brynna. "I know that not everyone wanted to put any faith in what I was saying about the location of the tainted water source."

"Blast it all!" Brynna's hushed voice sounded exasperated. "I'm _tired_ of caring about what 'everyone' around here thinks. One thing became very clear to me during yesterday's fight: Life's too short! We've got to live as much as we can for as long as we draw breath. We almost lost Fin and for a moment, I couldn't locate Kav in the fray and I ... I made up my mind right then and there that as long as I'm not hurting anyone or breaking any rules, I'm going to show Kav how much I care for him. Who knows when - or _if_ - we'll see each other again."

"Do you ... _love_ him?" Alex asked, her voice filled with concern for her friend.

"Yes, I do," Brynna admitted. "And I no longer care who sees us or approves or disapproves or whatever. Of course, we both have our separate duties and responsibilities for the time being, but hopefully ... someday, we might be able to build a life together. Only the Goddess knows at this point."

Alex sighed. "You're so lucky to know what you want already, Brynna. You've never hesitated to go and do the things we've been trained to do out here. I was being silly yesterday - letting my childhood fears paralyze me like that. After Danny sent me away from the fight, I was so angry and disappointed in myself, I actually thought about quitting."

"But you're still here," Brynna tried to sound encouraging. "And you found the location of the contaminated river. That's very, very important, you know."

Alex only smiled at Brynna. It was good to know that their relationship hadn't been damaged by the debacle of the previous day. They let the others know when breakfast was ready and then ate in companionable silence after everyone had served themselves.

It had been too dark for anyone to take a good look around the contaminated part of the river, so Alex led a small part of their group back to that area after breakfast. Everyone gagged at the stench emanating from the dark, murky water, so Numair placed a spell on their handkerchiefs so that they could tie them around their faces and not be affected by the horrible smell. Lilia and Daine walked closer and closer to the river's edge, their feet sinking into the marshy land as they drew near.

_Screams. Lots and lots of screams. And moaning. And groaning. And sickness and death._ Lilia's eyes widened in terror as her mind filled with the sounds of the dying creatures in the poisoned water which permeated the marshy land surrounding her feet.

Daine came up behind her and placed a strong, comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder. The tears that ran down her face mirrored the ones on Lilia's face. She, too, felt the evil sickness and death which contaminated the lands around the tainted body of water and hurt all the living creatures who had unwittingly consumed it.

"Wh--what is it?" Lilia whispered to no one in particular, her voice sounding far away and haunted. "Why has this happened?"

Numair joined his wife and encircled her with his long arms, taking away some of the pain she felt. "It's BlackWater," he said solemnly. "Someone - some mage whose heart and soul are completely dark - made a vain attempt at using forbidden magic here. BlackWater is a spell so evil that even the highest-ranking mages of Carthak won't attempt it anymore for fear of destroying what little arable land remains available to their people."

"What does it do?" Lilia asked.

"When the BlackWater spell is performed correctly - and completely - it turns every living thing the water touches against itself; changing the very nature of the plants and creatures, as you have seen and experienced during this mission," Numair explained.

"But why would anyone even _want_ to use such a spell?" Lilia asked, backing away from the marshy ground until her feet were on drier land. As she did, the agonizing sounds faded from her mind.

"Power, cruelty, vengeance, spite, insanity - pick one," Numair replied. "It appears as though a young mage - an extremely inexperienced one at that - was the culprit behind this awful situation. I believe we've discovered his charred remains on the far bank, near that grove of angry nettle bushes."

"Ugh!" Daine exclaimed as she located the darkened area. "Even though he's dead, the plants seem to be doling out their punishment against his crime. Any idea who he might have been or where he might've come from?"

Numair shook his head. "From the looks of that corpse, we may never know. I've already contacted the king to see if he can find out if any Gifted university students have been reported as missing." He turned to address Lilia, "Sometimes, a young and talented mage will become arrogant and disenchanted with what he or she believes to be the too-slow pace of instruction. There have been cases where student mages have broken into restricted areas of university libraries in search of scrolls of advanced or forbidden spells. This, unfortunately, could be what happened here."

"Mithros!" Daine softly exclaimed. "The idiot who attempted to use such dark magic here must have burned up all of his own life force in his attempt at such advanced magecraft."

Lilia felt her throat constrict with grief as she asked, "Is there anything we can do? Will the water and the land here ever be ... right again?"

"It will take time." Numair sighed and continued to explain, "King Jonathan is sending several of the most learned and skilled mages from across the realm to come and examine the situation here. Once we establish the true boundaries of the contaminated lands, the king will call upon the knights and soldiers from the surrounding fiefs to form a protective blockade around the entire area until we mages can cleanse the land."

"The king is treating this very seriously, then," Daine stated.

"Oh yes, well, of course he must," Numair agreed. "Now that he knows what it is, even he can feel the blight of this area through his magical bond with all the land. So he's sending an appeal to Emperor Kaddar's court to request assistance from the Carthaki Black-robed mages. There simply aren't very many of us who are familiar with the BlackWater spell. And, for the life of me, I can't imagine how or where such a young mage would obtain the knowledge of that spell."

"Is it alright if I tell the others what you've just told me?" Lilia asked.

Numair smiled a tired smile. "Of course! Daine and I will join you after a while. There are some other matters I need to discuss with her in private."

Lilia bobbed her head and quickly walked back to a rocky clearing where the rest of the Sixteenth Group was finishing their clean-up after lunch. All eyes turned toward her as she approached them and she felt her cheeks start to burn. She hated to be the center of attention, but since she was the one with the information, she'd just have to grin and bear it. Well, maybe not grin.

"We know what it is now," Lilia grimly told them. "Master Numair just told me that a foolish mage attempted to place something called the BlackWater spell on this river. Whoever he was, we're lucky he didn't fully succeed. Unfortunately, as we've seen and experienced, he was able to unleash enough of this curse that it had caused serious and terrible damage."

"What's going to happen now?" Danny asked.

Lilia explained to the group everything that Numair and Daine had explained to her. When she was finished, Danny made a derisive comment about mages and how many catastrophes they caused when they misused their power. Both Brynna and Leon glared at him and went to stand up next to Lilia. They asked her if their Gifts could be of any assistance in helping with the clean-up effort.

"I don't think so," Lilia shook her head. "The king is sending some of the best mages in the realm to deal with the situation. None of us has the control over our Gifts or the experience to do much more than to be in their way. Besides, it sounds like it will take a lot of time even for such powerful mages to come and cleanse the water and land."

"And it's time that we don't have," Danny said. "Miri informed me that we'll be leaving for a new mission as soon as we receive the orders later today. It's time for the Sixteenth to get ready to leave this wretched place."

"BlackWater," Brynna said quietly, but firmly.

"What?" Danny glanced back at her. "What did you say?"

"I think 'BlackWater' is a good name for us to consider as _our_ name," Brynna reiterated. "The spell turns nature against itself. _We_ have a bit of a tendency to turn things against themselves. Even - unfortunately - us against ourselves. What do you think?"

Danny scowled and said, "I think that's the most sarden--"

"I like it!" Fin interrupted.

"_You_ would," Danny said sourly.

"BlackWater," Leon repeated. "It _does_ have a certain ring to it."

"Yeah, I like it, too," said Cassidy. "After all, it sort of represents our first real mission together as a group like this."

Brynna raised an eyebrow at Danny.

"Alright, alright, I'll _think_ about," Danny growled. "BlackWater or not, whoever we are and whatever we decide to call ourselves, I want us to be ready at a moment's notice. Now, let's break camp!"

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A/N: Okay then! Has the Sixteenth finally found its name? Keep reading! And let us know what you think, too!! ~~ Ally-Marty :D

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Happy new year from the Sixeenth!

-_-RiderGroup16-_-

6/1/10 (!!)


	21. Ch 19 Another Complication

_**Disclaimer: We are not Tamora Pierce. We will never be Tamora Pierce, we can only dream.  
**_

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_**To Fight. To Love. To Live.**_

**Chapter 17: Another Complication  
**

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_"Alright, alright, I'll think about," Danny growled. "BlackWater or not, whoever we are and whatever we decide to call ourselves, I want us to be ready at a moment's notice. Now, let's break camp!"_

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_--_

Something was different as they pitched their tents that night, something slight, evasive. It was a small feeling, not enough to cause dramatic attention, but large enough to tap at the back of the mind when all else is silent.

It was this feeling that crept into each of the Riders in the Sixteenth. They felt completed, whole, but without having known anything was missing before.

This feeling kept their minds busy, and little was said as they prepared for bed, little needed to be said. By this time their tasks were routine, everyone knew what needed to be done and how to do it most efficiently. Each member went about their self-designated jobs without bothering another.

Every once in a while though, when one took the time to glance around and met another's eye, they couldn't help but smile.

Though none of them quite knew what this feeling they had was, they knew it was a good one. It was not a sign that things were changing for the better, but rather that things already had changed.

They had grown and matured, in many ways, from the rag tag group of strangers that had plodded along in the rain that first dreary day of their mission. It had only been weeks ago, then. But so much can happen in such a short time.

In those weeks they learned about the land around them, seeing animals and plants they had never imagined Tortall had within her boundaries. They discovered more about their own group members, learning their personalities, life stories, aspirations…everything. And they realized more about their own selves; who they were and what really mattered.

They grew from that nameless disjointed group into something great, something complete: BlackWater.

Who knew a name could mean so much?

It was the following morning when it became clear that their name would be tested.

BlackWater, along with the Wildmage, were taking the first few bites of their rationed breakfast when Numair stomped into camp. He seemed to be mumbling to himself and walked right past the food without seeming to have noticed.

"Numair?" Daine sat up questioningly, though he continued walking. "Numair?!"

With a sigh she went to stand in front of him, arms out, forcefully stopping him where he stood.

As if jolted from a dream, the lanky magician jumped, his eyes widening at the sight of his wife glaring in front of him.

His shoulders slumped forward in guilt. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Daine mock-grinned, "Yes, dear, you did. Now why don't you come over here and explain what's bothering you."

She patiently led him to where the rest of the Sixteenth was eating, some of them still half asleep, and said apologetically, "He is such a school boy. There are times when he gets so fixated on trying to think something through that I can't talk to him for _days_. It's insanity."

From the other side of the small circle they formed, Danny glanced up at the Mage. "Is something wrong?"

"Other than half the forest coming alive as evil man-eating creatures?" Fin grumbled into his bowl, earning him a smack on the head from Cassidy, who sat next to him. Alex, seeing Danny's glare at the younger man, had to refrain from giggling at the odd pair. As dire as the situation in these woods had gotten, there was always someone to lighten the mood and keep the group alive, it was what made them function.

After taking a bite of his own breakfast, the Mage sighed, running a hand through his long hair.

"I'm not certain… the BlackWater spell itself is something indefinite. It is rarely thought about, and even less likely to be researched. The records of it at the present time were all through notes taken and done by experienced Master Magicians. However, this spell was done by an overzealous amateur who knew nothing of the true workings of magic. His talents, or lack thereof, could cause the spell to go awry, more so than it already has at least. Perhaps it is this error on the amateur's part, or perhaps it is the natural cycle of distribution of water through a contained ecosystem…"

A short silence drifted over the group before Lillian spoke up in a soft voice, "Water moves, it can't be confined."

Danny's serious eyes darted from his group member to the skilled mage before him. "You're saying it is spreading? Further? What can we do about it now; we can't just sit here as more areas become infected"

"There is nothing you, or even I, can do at this moment Danny. There is nothing any of us can do until the other Mages arrive. Nevertheless, the longer it takes for them to arrive, the further the contamination will spread. As Lillian says, it cannot be confined. It never ceases its movement throughout the earth and the many things living within it."

"If it is spreading, we'll need to watch what we drink as well. What has touched the other animals could just as easily taint us. We don't know how quickly it is spreading," murmured Cassidy.

Danny nodded, "And the more it spreads, the more we will need to be on the lookout. We do _not_ need a repeat of what happened earlier; anything strange or unnatural must be reported immediately. No one handles anything alone."

There air turned to an edgy silence as each person was trapped in their own solemn thoughts. The BlackWater was spreading, and there was not a thing any of them could do to stop it. If it was not stopped soon, and help did not arrive fast enough, it could spread into a main water supply for villages. If humans became infected…more than just a few Rider deaths could occur. Hundreds could be massacred, by their own townspeople nonetheless. It needed top be stopped, and soon.

"No offense," Fin's voice cutting through their thoughts, "but I feel compelled to report that this mush we are being forced to eat is both strange _and_ unnatural. Ow! Cassidy!"

Another day was just beginning for BlackWater, and as the sun began to spread through the leaves of the trees, so too did the deadly spell.

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**Ooh, unexpected, huh? And to think we all thought it was over. well, be patient dear friends. It ios close to an end, there just happens to be another couple of complications to sort out.**

**_darestodream_**

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**-_-Ridergroup16-_-**

**10/2/10  
**


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